tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69770033303978975322024-03-13T04:07:29.672-07:00Wes in ChinaWes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-40506822350497525472011-03-16T20:01:00.000-07:002011-03-16T20:06:36.747-07:00Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands)<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/export/64381" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 2px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px; height: 400px; width: 650px;"></iframe><br />
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Our last stop in Laos was Si Phan Don or Four Thousand Islands. Si Phan Don is actually a river archipelago, where the Mekong River gets so wide that there are actually several large islands and tons of smaller ones in the river itself. Si Phan Don is mostly a place to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery, while there are a few trips possible from the area as well.<br />
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The great part about Si Phan Don is that accommodation and most other expenses are really cheap there. You can get a bungalow right on the water for just a few dollars per night and have great views of the Mekong River. We stayed on Don Det Island, where a lot of backpacker types like to stay. People definitely seemed to move at a slow pace as we normally had to wait two hours or more for our food at the small restaurants there. During our stay, we spent most of our time sitting along the riverside, watching the locals go by on their small boats, and enjoying the scenery.<br />
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Mekong River from Bungalow </div>
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Hammocks on Our Front Porch </div>
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One of the main reasons people go to Si Phan Don is to see the Irrawaddy Dolphins, a rare species of pink river dolphins. The Mekong River is big enough in the area that it is able to support dolphins, but apparently they are extremely endangered with fewer than 100 left. Their population is rebounding a bit thanks to conservation efforts, but they are still pretty rare and Si Phan Don is one of the few places where it is possible to see them.<br />
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To see the dolphins and some of the other sites in the area, we took a day long Kayak trip. The trip included some hiking on other islands and stops at some big waterfalls in the area.<br />
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Li Phi Waterfall </div>
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Kayaking in Mekong</div>
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After kayaking for awhile, we actually crossed into the border into Cambodia to the place where the dolphins are normally active. It's a really wide stretch of the river and looks like it could be a lake because the water doesn't flow too quickly there. We were really lucky on our trip because the dolphins were pretty active and we could see them close up a few times. </div>
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Waiting for the Dolphins</div>
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A Dolphin Surfacing</div>
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At the end of the trip we stopped at the Khone Phapheng Falls, which is apparently the largest waterfall in Southeast Asia. While the falls are not that tall, since the Mekong River is so big in that area, they are pretty wide and have a lot of water passing through, which is why it is the largest falls.</div>
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Khone Phapheng Falls</div>
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Khone Phapheng Falls</div>
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One of the best things to do in the Si Phan Don area is to sit along the Mekong River and watch the sunsets. There are several restaurants and guest houses along the riverside that offer great views in Don Det and you can just grab a drink and play cards as you watch the sun going down.</div>
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Chilling on Riverside </div>
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Red Beard Allred</div>
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Hidden Sun</div>
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Sunset over Mekong </div>
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Locals Heading Home</div>
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Sun below the Horizon</div>
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That wraps up our trip to Si Phan Don and also Laos. Our trip to Laos was the best part of the trip for me and it's one of my favorite places that I've visited. While there are few large cities or developed areas, there is a lot of beautiful, unspoiled nature, the local people are really friendly, and you can see a lot of the country without spending a lot of money. We enjoyed pretty much every stop in Laos and met a lot of great people along the way.</div>
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Even though the trip ended a long time ago, I've really enjoyed reliving the experience by writing these blog posts and going through the old pictures. There are only a few stops left on our Southeast Asia circuit, so hopefully I can finish things up before my time is over in China.</div>
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For more pictures of Si Phan Don, see: <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/SiPhanDon#">https://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/SiPhanDon#</a></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-84943508949230951562011-03-06T23:05:00.000-08:002011-03-06T23:15:40.341-08:00Pakse and Bolaven Plateau<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/export/64381" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 2px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px; height: 400px; width: 650px;"></iframe><br />
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Working our way south through Laos, our next stop was in Pakse. While being one of the larger cities in Laos, Pakse is still relatively small and is mainly a staging point for treks in the surrounding countryside. Our first evening after arriving in Pakse, we did spend some time walking around the city and checked out some of the main temples. Additionally, the hotel where we stayed at was owned and operated by some Indian people, so we took the opportunity to break from our diet of Laotian food to eat some excellent Indian cuisine.<br />
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Temple in Pakse</div>
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Monks in Buddhist Temple</div>
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Local Soccer Game</div>
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Our main purpose in going to Pakse was to take another motorcycle trip. Near Pakse is the Bolaven Plateau, an elevated region formed by a huge ancient volcano. Because of the volcanic lava flows long ago, a lot of drop offs and rocky slopes were formed, which has resulted in numerous waterfalls around the Bolaven Plateau. It's a great place to cruise around on a motorcycle for a few days, stopping to check out waterfalls or villages in the area.<br />
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After spending a night in Pakse, we started off around one of the main loops on the Bolaven Plateau. It was a pretty nice way to spend a day, riding on a motorbike between stops at waterfalls.<br />
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E-Tu Waterfall</div>
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One of our favorite waterfalls on the trip was the Thamchampy Waterfall (see below), which had a rounded out cave area that allowed you to walk behind the waterfall.</div>
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Thamchampy Waterfall from Above</div>
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Thamchampy Full View </div>
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Phil at Thamchampy</div>
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Behind Thamchampy</div>
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One of the biggest waterfalls in the area is Tad Fane. While there is a resort built near the waterfall, actually getting down to a good view of the waterfall is really tough. It was a muddy and steep path, during which I slipped and fell into the bushes, sliding down the mountain for a ways. However, we did get some pretty good views of the waterfall to reward us for the effort. The pictures don't show how big it really is, but apparently the falls are over 100m or over 325 feet, so they're pretty big.<br />
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Tad Fane from a Distance</div>
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Full View of Tad Fane Falls</div>
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The last major waterfall of the day was the Yuang Waterfall. It was another great waterfall to check out.</div>
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Yuang Waterfall</div>
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We stopped for lunch in a small town named Paksong, which was about the halfway point of our driving that day. In Paksong, a Dutch guy randomly has a nice coffee and tea plantation and small cafe. We stopped to chat with him for awhile, then headed on our way. The rest of the day we spent driving to Tad Lo village, where we were planning to spend the night. The drive was some of the most scenic of our trip and we had some great opportunities to see open countryside and small villages.</div>
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Cow Questioning Our Authority </div>
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Countryside on Bolaven Plateau</div>
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Open Road</div>
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We finally arrived in Tad Lo village, which has a nice river and series of waterfalls nearby. There are several guest houses in the village because it's kind of a nice stopping point for people doing the loop around the Bolaven plateau. That night, we grabbed some dinner at a small local restaurant, and then headed to one of the bigger hotels in the area, the Tad Lo Lodge, to watch the Netherlands vs. Brazil world cup game with some Dutch people. The Dutch won, which was cause for great celebration.<br />
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Our Bungalow in Tad Lo</div>
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The next morning, we took a short trek to visit four local villages and the major waterfalls in the area. The weather was perfect that day, nothing but blue skies to highlight the green countryside. Unfortunately, the biggest waterfall didn't have enough water when we visited, so it was just a drizzle. However, the trek and smaller waterfalls were still really great. After the trek, we were pretty filthy from constantly sweating in the Southeast Asian humidity and having dust stick to us from either hiking around or motorbiking on dusty roads. We took a nice dip in the river to clean up a bit, but it only lasted a short while before we got back on our bikes and got blasted with some more dust.</div>
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Filthy Wes on Trek near Tad Lo</div>
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Village near Tad Lo</div>
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Crossing Paths with the Locals</div>
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Muddy Road</div>
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Drying Leaves at Village</div>
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Blue Skies and Green Countryside</div>
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Phil Walking Down Dirt Road</div>
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Swimming In River at Smaller Waterfall</div>
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Biggest Waterfall Nearly Dried Up</div>
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After our morning trek, we hopped back on our motorbikes and started on our way back to Pakse. There were still a few waterfalls to visit on the way back, so we took our time getting back to the city.<br />
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Wes at Phasouam Waterfall</div>
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Finishing up our short loop around the Bolaven Plateau marked the last of our motorbiking trips. Riding around for those two days was a great trip and we enjoyed seeing all the waterfalls and the beautiful countryside. Having never before ridden a motorbike long distances, I was surprised how much I enjoyed traveling that way. Phil and I both agreed that if we did our trip through Laos again, we would probably just ride a motorbike across the whole country. We met a few people doing that and it seemed like they were really enjoying it. It lets you take in the countryside at your own pace and gives you a lot of freedom to see some things off the main path. You also don't have to worry about bus schedules, which is especially nice in a developing country where things aren't always on schedule. Riding a motorbike might even be cheaper than taking the buses, although some of the roads with sharp curves up and down steep mountains might not be that safe. </div>
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There's only one more post coming for Laos, then hopefully I can finish up the couple posts for Cambodia and Malaysia before too long, so stay tuned.</div>
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For more pictures of Pakse and the Bolaven Plateau: <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/PakseAndBolavenPlateau#">https://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/PakseAndBolavenPlateau#</a></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-22476849429960332962011-02-28T22:46:00.000-08:002011-02-28T23:06:44.135-08:00Konglor<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/export/64381" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 2px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px; height: 400px; width: 650px;"></iframe><br />
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After riding motorbikes through the countryside around Thakhek, we continued traveling by motorbike to do a side trip to the Konglor Cave. The Konglor Cave is actually more of an underground river that you can cruise through on a boat. It's still relatively undeveloped since it was supposedly only discovered in 2004. Being about 5 miles long with huge caverns supposedly up to 100 meters high and 30 meters wide, it's a spectacular place to visit and was one of the highlights of the trip.<br />
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Riding by motorbike out to Konglor from Thakhek is quite scenic and you pass by a lot of local villages after you get off the main highway. It was a bit of a long drive using the small motorbikes we had, but it was manageable for a day trip. Unfortunately, both of our bikes started to show signs of wear and tear on the drive. Phil's was the first to go, with the sprocket on his back tire getting really worn down, so the chain would just spin when he tried to go. At first we thought we were in trouble, but after stopping for a bowl of noodles for lunch, we had a local direct us to a small repair shop. We expected to get charged a lot for the repair, but it was only around $10 and only took an hour to repair before we were able to get back on the road.</div>
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Phil and Countryside on Way to Konglor</div>
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Getting the Bike Repaired</div>
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Rocky Karst Mountains</div>
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Water Buffalo Doing What Water Buffaloes Do</div>
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After finally arriving at the cave, we arranged to have a local take us on a canoe type boat with a motor through the cave. At first it was hard to see where the entrance was, but it was amazing how big it was once you were inside.</div>
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Where is It?</div>
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Oh, There It Is</div>
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Because it's completely black inside the cave, it was tough to get a lot of quality videos or pictures. The best thing to do was to just sit back and enjoy the experience of blasting through the darkness on a rickety boat driven recklessly by a local Laotian. All we had to guide us were some flashlights and headlamps, but the drivers seemed to know what they were doing. There were definitely some tricky spots, where rocks would jut up out of nowhere or the river would get really shallow, that would definitely wreck an inexperienced driver. Other times the boat would scrape on rocks, go over a small fall or rapid, or we'd have to stand up and carry the boat past a particularly rough patch.</div>
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The Starting Point </div>
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Driving Into the Darkness</div>
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At one point, the boats are stopped at an area of the cave with a lot of rock formations that they light up temporarily. When you get off the boat, the drivers lead you on a narrow strip of shallow rocks with sharp drop offs on each side into deep parts of the fast flowing river. I'm not sure who first explored this cave, but there definitely seem to be several parts like that where you could easily get into trouble in such a big dark cave with a river flowing throw it. </div>
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Lit Up Section of Cave</div>
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More Rock Formations</div>
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While the rock formations were cool, the best part of the cave really is the boat ride through the darkness and being amazed about how huge the caverns are and at times not even being able to see where the walls are. Eventually, after going all the way through the cave, you finally see light at the end of the tunnel. Then, the boats head back in the opposite direction and you get to do it all over again. In all, you're in the cave for around an hour or more.</div>
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End of the Tunnel</div>
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By the time we finished with the cave, it was already getting a bit late and we decided to do a home stay for the night. A home stay is basically staying with one of the locals in their hut, receiving room and board for an evening. There were several people offering home stays outside the cave and we joined some other foreigners who were also on the boat ride to go stay with a family. The village was right near the cave and in a valley between two ranges of mountains where people were growing rice or other crops. We had an opportunity to take in the beautiful countryside and talk with several of the locals as we relaxed that evening.</div>
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Countryside Near Konglor</div>
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Rice Fields</div>
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Local Kids Coming to Shake Hands</div>
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The home stay itself was a lot of fun. We stayed with a nice family and enjoyed eating dinner and breakfast with them. At night there was a world cup soccer game on and since the family we were staying with had a TV, nearly all the men from the village crammed into the hut to watch the game. It was surprising to see how interested everyone in Laos was in the world cup on our whole trip and we had a lot of fun watching the games with them.<br />
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As we were packing up to leave the next morning, the Grandpa of the family said to me in broken English, "Hello Mister, I love you." I'm not sure where he learned how to say that, but it was definitely a surprise for me to hear. Most likely he tells a lot of guests that, even though he probably doesn't clearly understood the meaning of the words, which probably has given a lot of people a nice surprise like I had.</div>
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Kids and Grandma from the Home Stay Family</div>
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Authentic Laos Dinner</div>
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Watching the World Cup Game</div>
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Receiving a Friendship Bracelet from the Grandpa</div>
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After eating our breakfast and getting cleaned up, we hit the open road and headed back to Thakhek. Pretty much right on cue, my motorbike started having more and more trouble. Eventually I had to stop and get the clutch replaced. Fortunately, it was again a pretty cheap and quick fix and we were back on our way. </div>
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Phil at Laos-Style Gas Station</div>
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Wes Cruisin' Like a Boss</div>
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The Konglor Cave was a unique experience and was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. The home stay and beautiful countryside helped to make the trip even more memorable. While the area seems to be developing for tourists very quickly, it will still be one of the best places to visit in Laos.<br />
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For more pictures, visit: <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/KonglorCave#">https://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/KonglorCave#</a></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-65690561445435074872011-01-25T00:50:00.000-08:002011-01-25T01:06:38.162-08:00Thakhek<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/export/64381" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 2px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px; height: 400px; width: 650px;"></iframe><br />
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After our short stay in Vientiane, we headed south to a town called Thakhek. On the bus ride down, the bus got a flat tire, which delayed us for quite awhile. However, that flat tire ended up making our trip to Thakhek incredibly awesome. While we were waiting around for the bus to get fixed, a local girl who was on the bus came and talked with us for awhile. She was really friendly and offered to help us find a place to stay in Thakhek. Even better, she knew a German guy living in Thakhek who explores caves in the countryside and who could take us to some places outside the main tourist routes. Needless to say, we were very interested, so we agreed to meet up again the next day.<br />
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Rather Garish Bus with a Flat Tire</div>
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After a breakfast of noodle soup, we met up with Soy (the Laotian girl) and DC (the German guy). We chatted with them about some potential trips to do in the area. Most people come to Thakhek for "the Loop," which is a 3-4 day motorbike trip around the countryside. We were originally planning to do the Loop as well, but after talking with DC, we decided to skip the loop and have him take us to some more interesting places.<br />
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We rented some motorbikes for the trip and prepared to set off. Phil and I both didn't have much experience riding motorbikes, so we decided to do an easier stretch of riding for the first day. We thought it was pretty funny that they let us rent the bikes with a mere $7.50 deposit and an ID card, when we were clearly inexperienced and a little out of control when we pulled away from the bike shop. However, we got the hang of things quickly and the bikes were pretty easy to ride.<br />
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That first day we checked out a few of the nearby caves. The first was the Buddha Cave, which was the only touristy cave we went to and was by far the least exciting. After that, we trusted DC's advice that most of the tourist caves were relatively uninteresting, whereas the ones he knew about were really cool and less visited.<br />
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Pool near Entrance of Cave </div>
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Soy, Our Trusty Laotian Friend</div>
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DC and Soy near Cave Entrance</div>
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The insides of the caves were pretty impressive. Some of the caves DC knew about were only discovered recently, so we were pretty lucky to see them. Several would have some Buddhist sculptures nearby or just inside the entrances, but deeper inside the caves it would be completely untouched and pitch black. Some of the caves had interesting rock formations that you could go and see up close. One of the caves was extremely deep and even DC didn't know how far into the mountain it went. We probably walked in a mile or so through some huge caverns and narrow passages before turning back. </div>
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Buddhist Sculptures near Cave Entrance</div>
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Buddhist Sculptures Inside Cave</div>
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Phil Inside Cave</div>
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Wes with Butt Cheeks Rock Formation</div>
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Besides the caves, riding around the countryside on motorbikes was spectacular. It was a lot of fun to drive through the rural areas, where friendly kids would shout "Sa Bai Dee" or hello as you passed by. The rice paddies, green fields, and mountains were really impressive and it was great to just sit back and cruise through the beautiful landscapes.</div>
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Rice Paddies</div>
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Countryside around Thakhek</div>
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Rocky Mountains</div>
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Karst Mountains like Yangshuo in China</div>
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Driving Around Countryside</div>
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Cruising through a Village</div>
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Hitting the Open Road</div>
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At the end of the first day, we caught a great sunset along the Mekong River from the main street in Thakhek. The street has some great places to relax after a hard day, grab a drink and some food, and then just kick back and enjoy the sunset.</div>
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Sunset over Mekong</div>
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The next day, we headed out again with DC and Soy to some caves further away in an area called Mahaxai. Since it was the rainy season, heavy rains during the night made the dirt roads really muddy, but that just made riding a motorbike through the countryside more fun. There were some pretty rough patches, but our bikes were pretty small and light, so we could get through them by going around through the trees or just gunning it through. </div>
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Wes and the Mean Hog with a Basket on Front</div>
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Water Buffalo Cooling Off in Our Path</div>
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Wes Demonstrating the Aftermath of Superior Driving Skills</div>
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Village Pit Stop</div>
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Local Kids Jumping Into River</div>
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The caves we went to the second day were equally as cool as the first day. We were really lucky to have met Soy on that bus ride so we could go with DC to some of these caves that no one else seemed to know about. As DC often mentioned, these caves weren't tourist caves with parts lit up inside and a set path through the cave. All we had was our headlamps and DC to guide us through. </div>
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Practicing Meditation</div>
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Terraced Pools Inside Cave</div>
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Big Spider Inside Cave</div>
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After being hot and sweaty all day, we had dust stuck to our entire bodies from riding on the dirt roads, in addition to the filth from biking in the mud all day. We decided to go to a little waterfall to clean ourselves up a bit and cool off. Lacking any swimming suits, we had to strip down to our underwear, resulting in the graphic picture of me below.</div>
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Phil, DC, and Wes</div>
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Phil, Soy, and Wes</div>
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Wes Swinging on Vine</div>
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After finishing up at the waterfall, we headed back to Thakhek. We had quite a ways to go and it started getting dark on our way back. There were some spectacular views with the sun going down on the drive back, but a storm was starting to roll in and we were worried about getting back safely, so unfortunately we had to go straight back without stopping. It was really too bad, because they really were some of the best views on the trip.</div>
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That night was our final night in Thakhek and with the properly named "DC Adventure Tours," so we met up with Soy and DC for a Laos-style hotpot dinner to celebrate the fun days we had. </div>
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Laos Hot Pot with Meat Cooking on Hot Center and Soup on Sides </div>
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The Crew</div>
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Thakhek was one of my favorite places on the trip. Sometimes you have to get lucky and meet some locals to have the best experience. We really appreciate Soy's friendliness and help during our time there. Hopefully someday I can repay all the kindness I've received during my travels.<br />
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On that note, here are two final random pictures from Thakhek:<br />
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Totaled Buses from Reckless Driving in Laos</div>
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Typical Laos Toilet: No flushing, just fill up a small bucket of water from a basin nearby and pour in toilet.</div>
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For more pictures, see: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Thakhek#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Thakhek#</a></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-33125200430461249762011-01-09T21:42:00.000-08:002011-01-11T17:10:08.558-08:00Vientiane<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/export/64381" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 2px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px; height: 400px; width: 650px;"></iframe><br />
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After a bit of a break in the blog to finish up some school applications and a trip back to the US for Christmas, I'm back on the blog to try to finish up some posts about my trip to Southeast Asia (which finished about five months ago, not that I'm behind or a slow writer or anything).<br />
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Next up was Vientiane, the capitol of Laos. Vientiane was the only city we visited in Laos that was a more typical modern and relatively developed city. As such, there wasn't as much to do there and it was more of a midway point for us between northern and southern Laos. There are a few interesting sites in the city, though, and it's a good place to recharge between treks.<br />
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The city is relatively walkable and you can see most of the sites in a day. One of the main things to see is Patuxai, which is somewhat of an unfinished knockoff of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It's pretty cool to check out and has one of the best views of the city from the top.<br />
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Wes at Patuxai </div>
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Patuxai with Reflecting Pool </div>
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View of Presidential Palace from Patuxai </div>
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View of Vientiane from Patuxai</div>
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View of Vientiane from Patuxai</div>
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The main site in Vientiane is Pha That Luang, a Buddhist temple that is the Laos national symbol. It's basically a big, gold-colored temple, and is definitely impressive to see.</div>
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Pha That Luang Courtyard</div>
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Entrance to Pha That Luang</div>
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Pha That Luang</div>
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Pha That Luang</div>
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On our route from the north part of Laos to the south, we kept running into the same people over and over again who were on the same route. We might do a trek or two with a group, go our separate ways, and then randomly see those people again in another city. Since most of the cities in Laos are one street towns it normally wasn't too surprising, but since Vientiane is a pretty big city, it was a surprise when we ran into several people we had met in places like Nong Khiaw and Vang Viang.</div>
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Bowling is a popular thing to do in Vientiane for some reason, so we decided to hit the lanes that night with some of the people we had met earlier in our trip. Even though the lanes and computers at the bowling alley seemed like they were several decades old, it was a lot of fun to mix things up and do something completely different than most of the other activities we were doing in Laos.</div>
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Bowling Laos-Style </div>
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Make Benefit Glorious Laos Happy Bowling</div>
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Later that night as we were walking around the city, we happened upon a big public square where they were playing a World Cup game. During our whole trip it was surprising to see how interested Laotians were in the World Cup, even though they didn't have a team playing. They seemed to follow it pretty passionately and when the games were on, nearly every shop, restaurant, house, etc. would have the game playing. It was pretty cool to watch the game with the locals in the public square and eat some local food while doing so.</div>
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Watching World Cup</div>
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The next day, we checked out a morning market and walked around the city a bit before heading off to the next city on our trip. We had considered doing a cooking class to learn how to cook some of the basic Laos dishes, but it didn't work out. Cooking classes eluded us the entire trip somehow and we never did get to do one.</div>
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Interesting Dirty and Cramped Market </div>
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Black Stupa</div>
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Local Transportation</div>
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While the stay in Vientiane was short, it was still pretty interesting and it's always good to see the capitol city of a country. Stay tuned as I finish up my posts about Laos and then on to Cambodia.</div>
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For more pictures: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Vientiane#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Vientiane#</a></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-29576286580619760352010-12-05T20:50:00.000-08:002010-12-05T21:22:19.120-08:00Vang Vieng<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/export/64381" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 2px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px; height: 400px; width: 650px;"></iframe><br />
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The next spot our in our trip in Laos was Vang Vieng. The town itself is kind of a touristy, backpacker party town with the entire downtown catering to western tourists, making it not the ideal place to go to see the "real Laos". All over the town there are rows of restaurants with beds at the tables that you can lounge at with TVs blaring with American TV shows, primarily Friends and Family Guy. Most places in Laos are required to close down at 11:30 pm or earlier, but in Vang Vieng there is a party island that can stay open all night. When we were there, it was during the rainy season and fewer tourists were around, making it less of a wild place to be. Despite all that, there is some pretty amazing scenery outside the small town center making it worth a visit.<br />
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As in most places of our trip, most of the backpackers were British, Australian, Dutch, and other assorted Europeans. We definitely met a lot fewer Americans on our trip than expected, especially considering the US has a population of 300+ million, whereas Holland has only around 16.5 million. Maybe Americans just don't venture out as much, or when we do most people head to Europe. Or maybe Americans just don't get as much vacation as Europeans. Either way, we were definitely underrepresented.<br />
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Most Stable Bridge in Laos </div>
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The Passage to Party Island</div>
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Party Island</div>
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The main draw of Vang Vieng is tubing on the Nam Song River. On the main stretch of the river there is a huge party scene the likes of which might not exist anywhere else in the world. As you float down the river, there are rows of bars that will be pumping music and having people lasso you on your tube and reel you in. Each bar has some kind of a swing, zip line, or huge slide going into the river. The whole thing is pretty crazy and definitely unsafe. To make things worse, before we arrived in town we had heard about an epidemic of pink eye spreading around the town from all the people swimming in the river, but fortunately by the time we got into Vang Vieng the infected crowd seemed to have moved on.<br />
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We spent a day on the river hitting all the big swings. One of the funniest things that happened during tubing was at the first place we stopped, which had a big zip line. The guy didn't really give us any instructions before we took the zip line down, so when Phil went first, he held on until the end of the line, which ended up being a really hard stop instead of a cushioned landing, leading to him involuntarily doing a back flip while flailing around before landing in the water. Fortunately he didn't get hurt and my only regret about it was that I didn't get it on camera.<br />
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I Disapprove of This</div>
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Wes on Swing</div>
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Tubing Stretch of River</div>
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Slide Bar </div>
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Phil Going off Swing</div>
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Wes Catapulting off Slide</div>
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Tubing Down River</div>
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Phil Tubing </div>
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Beautiful Mountain and River Scenery<br />
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With the tubing experience off our checklist, we spent the next day exploring the areas outside of the city. There are lots of beautiful mountains, rivers, caves, and places to go swimming. We rented bikes and ventured out, but due to some heavy rains the night before, several of the country roads were flooded. While it might have slowed us down some, we took note of the locals who didn't let a flooded river ruin their journey and continued on our way. It was surprisingly beautiful in the countryside and we enjoyed riding around, stopping at local shops to get a fruit shake, and wading through the flooded roads with the locals.</div>
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Morning View from Hotel<br />
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Nobody Seems to Understand the Nature of the Project<br />
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Flooded River<br />
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Not Much of a Swimmin' Hole<br />
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Vang Vieng Countryside</div>
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Cows Up in Our Business<br />
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Planting Rice</div>
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Muddy River</div>
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Sunset Over River</div>
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Despite the debauchery that is normally associated with Vang Vieng, our stay was pretty mild because of the slow tourist season, heavy rains, and our ventures into the countryside. Regardless, we did have a lot of fun hitting the swings and slides on the river and the scenery outside the city is pretty amazing. We also made it out of the city without any pink eye, although we did get a stomach bug that stayed with us for quite awhile from a rather suspicious late night bacon, chicken, and cheese crepe. Despite that, I still chalk this visit up as a success.<br />
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For more pictures: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/VangVieng#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/VangVieng#</a></div>
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</div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-73498384085964002472010-11-11T21:14:00.000-08:002010-11-11T21:28:37.910-08:00Nong Khiaw and 100 Waterfalls Trek<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/export/64381" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 2px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px; height: 400px; width: 650px;"></iframe><br />
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From Luang Prabang, we took a side trip to a small town called Nong Khiaw. The main purpose for us to go there was the 100 Waterfalls trek, which has purportedly only been explored since 2008, meaning it is still somewhat off the main tourist routes. The town itself ended up being incredibly beautiful with great river and mountain scenes. There were a lot fewer tourists there, although still enough to get together a nice group for the trek and enjoy dinners along the river. After arriving, we took some time to walk around the town and the side alleys to explore a little.<br />
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Main Street Nong Khiaw</div>
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Our Bungalow ($8/night)</div>
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Local Hut and Backyard</div>
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Blue Sky, Green Mountains, Muddy Mekong = Laos</div>
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Nong Khiaw River View </div>
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River View</div>
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During the hottest part of the day, we had to relax in one of the restaurants near the river to stay out of the heat. When the evening started setting in and the sun started coming down, we went out along the river area and it was really beautiful. By chance, there was a small wedding party going on and the groom's brother came over to us and talked to us for awhile so he could practice his English. A lot of the local kids were curious, too, and came by looking to play games or take a look at our cameras.</div>
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Wes and Phil with Groom's Brother</div>
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Xue'en (from Singapore) Drawing Portraits for Kids</div>
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Welcome to Laos</div>
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Cute Kids </div>
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Sunset over River</div>
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River Activity at Sunset</div>
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The next day, we set out for the 100 Waterfalls trek. To start the trip, we took a boat along the river to a nearby village. We spent some time walking around the village and meeting some of the locals. Our guide, a local Laotian named Home, took us to some of his family in the village. Home's Dad also came along for the trip and provided a lot of colorful commentary along the way. Home spoke perfect English with a slight British accent and was one of the best guides we had during our two month trip.</div>
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Cruising on the Boat</div>
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Passing Some Locals</div>
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Village Area</div>
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The Local Village Paddy Hat Maker</div>
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We departed from the village and hiked up to the 100 Waterfalls area. It took a couple hours, but we saw a lot of beautiful sites along the way. When we were hiking, Home's Dad would show us a lot of interesting tricks using items from the jungle. He showed us leaves that would turn into a dark red dye when you rubbed them together, how to make a tuning fork type instrument with bamboo, which herbs could be eaten, and how to make other various crafts. He provided a lot of entertainment despite not being able to speak much English.</div>
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Water Trail</div>
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Home Leading Way up Mountains</div>
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Local Micro-Hydro Power</div>
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Walking through Rice Paddies</div>
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Planting Rice</div>
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The Power of Natural Red Dye</div>
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Home's Dad Demonstrating the Red Dye as Lipstick</div>
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How to Make a Water Buffalo from Bamboo</div>
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The actual "100 Waterfalls" part of the trek is a one hour hike up a series of waterfalls. Most of the falls are small, but they stretch on for a pretty long while. Surprisingly, it's a pretty smooth hike up and the rocks aren't slippery or anything. It's a lot of fun climbing up and there's a nice payoff at the top with a bigger waterfall to take a rinse in.<br />
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Hiking up 100 Waterfalls</div>
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A More Difficult Stretch</div>
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Phil, Home, Home's Dad, and Wes</div>
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Shower at Top</div>
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At the top, Home and his Dad prepared a traditional Laos meal, served on large leaves and including sticky rice, Laap, egg, and vegetables. You eat it by rolling up some sticky rice and grabbing some of the other food with the sticky rice between your fingers. We really enjoyed the Laap, which is kind of a spicy minced meat dish, throughout our time in Laos.</div>
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The Lunch Spread</div>
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Digging In</div>
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After lunch, we headed back to Nong Khiaw. We were planning to catch the bus back to Luang Prabang that night, but missed it. Staying another day in Nong Khiaw wasn't so bad, but the next day was extremely rainy and we weren't able to do much in our remaining time there. We did have some nice views again in the evening and through the rain. Phil took some great pictures that I'll share below.</div>
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Riverside</div>
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Evening Time in Nong Khiaw</div>
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Sunset Over River</div>
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Heavy Rains near Bungalow</div>
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Rain and Fog on River Bend</div>
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Not everything was perfect in Nong Khiaw. Bullfrogs staking out territory in our sink, big spiders in our bathroom, and an incredibly packed ride back to Luang Prabang made the trip more interesting, but for the most part our time in Nong Khiaw was amazing and was well worth the visit. It's such a picturesque town full of friendly people that I would recommend it to anyone traveling through Laos.</div>
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Be Careful Before Sitting Down</div>
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18 People Packed into a Small Bus<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> </span></div>
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Thanks for Coming!</div>
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For more pictures, see: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/NongKhiawAnd100Waterfalls">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/NongKhiawAnd100Waterfalls</a></div>
</div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-47840145393404351712010-11-01T22:55:00.000-07:002010-11-01T23:10:33.337-07:00Luang Prabang<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/export/64381" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 2px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px; height: 400px; width: 650px;"></iframe><br />
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Our first major stop in Laos was Luang Prabang, the final destination for the slow boat trip and a great starting point for exploring Laos. Despite being one of the larger cities in Laos, Luang Prabang is still a pretty small city, with a couple main streets to see and some scenic views along the Mekong River. There is a lot of French influence in the city due to the colonial days, but there are also many Buddhist temples. Since Laos is still under pretty tight control of the government, everything closes down at 11:30pm in Luang Prabang and throughout the country. However, Laos is best for its unspoiled nature instead of its nightlife, so full nights of sleep were probably in our best interest anyway.<br />
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Main Street in Luang Prabang by Day</div>
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And By Night</div>
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Buddhist Temple</div>
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Greetings </div>
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Another Temple</div>
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Monks' Quarters</div>
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One of the main draws near Luang Prabang is the Kuang Si Falls about an hour or so outside of town. Utilizing the primary form of transportation in Southeast Asia, namely a tuk tuk or some variation thereof, we headed out to the waterfalls for a day. There are several cascades of waterfalls at Kuang Si and you can go swimming in some of the deeper pools or take a swing on the rope swing. The water was so clean and was a perfect green-blue color. When we were standing around in the water, we were treated to the surprise of having little fish nibble at our feet. Those fish are actually used all over Southeast Asia as a kind of foot massage. People put their feet into tanks full of these fish and let the fish feast on all the dead skin and other impurities festering on their feet. We got the real deal in these waterfalls and didn't have to pay a dime for a massage, leaving us one step ahead of those suckers who paid a whole $4 in town.<br />
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Rural Road to Kuang Si Falls</div>
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Waterfall Cascades</div>
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More Cascades</div>
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Kuang Si Falls</div>
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Wes on Rope Swing</div>
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Phil on Rope Swing</div>
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Chilling</div>
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That night, we hiked up to a Buddhist temple on Phousi Hill in the center of the town for the sunset. As a high point in the city with a view over the Mekong River and the jungle and hills in the distance, Phousi Hill has some of the best sunset views that we saw on our trip. I always take too many pictures for sunsets and can never sort out which ones are the best, so here are a few that I painstakingly narrowed down from all the pictures Phil and I took.</div>
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Wes on Path up Phousi Hill</div>
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Buddhas Guiding our Way</div>
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Double Rainbow!!</div>
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Mr. Philip Dawsey</div>
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Humidity 1000, Wes 0</div>
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Sunset and the Mekong River</div>
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The Painted Sky</div>
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Sunset Reflected on Mekong </div>
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Big Sky</div>
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One of the cool things in Luang Prabang is the night market. I've been to nearly a billion night markets during my time in China and have become bored of all the typical counterfeit clothing and miscellaneous junk sold at most night markets. However, the one in Luang Prabang is really unique and has a lot of handicrafts made by local Laos people. There is also a side alley with some great street food, where we partook of barbecued meat, noodles, and delicious fruit shakes.</div>
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Wes Negotiating the Purchase of Some Wares</div>
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Food Alley and Wes Bald Spot</div>
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Chowing Down on Some Chicken</div>
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Grilled Fish (My Favorite)</div>
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Throughout all of Laos, one of the main things we ate was sandwiches, which might seem strange being in Asia. However, due to the French colonial influence, there were sandwich stalls everywhere selling baguettes and crepes that were pretty good. Another great thing in Laos was the fruit smoothies that were made from some of the freshest fruit you could possibly eat. With the price being anywhere from fifty cents to a dollar for one of the fruit shakes, we were drinking them pretty much with every meal.</div>
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Laotian Baguette</div>
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That wraps up our stay in Luang Prabang. For more pictures, see picasa: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/LuangPrabang#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/LuangPrabang#</a></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-21532022244833054102010-10-25T21:49:00.000-07:002010-10-25T21:58:11.351-07:00Slow Boat on the Mekong River from Thailand to Laos<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/export/64381" style="border: 2px solid #cccccc; height: 400px; width: 650px;"></iframe><br />
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To get from northern Thailand to Laos, there is boat that cruises, ever so slowly, down the Mekong River. The trip takes one day by bus and two days by boat, so it is not necessarily the most convenient mode of transportation, but the slow boat affords many scenic views and has become somewhat of a necessary thing to do among the backpacker set.<br />
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Starting off from Chiang Mai, the first day was spent in a minivan/bus that heads to the Thailand border city of Chiang Khong. We stayed the night at the border, then the next morning crossed into Laos and got onto the boat.<br />
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View Across the Mekong to Laos</div>
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The first day of the slow boat trip was very enjoyable because we had a lot of new things to see, new people to meet, and the weather wasn't too hot (at least for Southeast Asia in the summer). The group of people we met on the slow boat was one of the best of our trip and we bumped into several of them in different cities as we worked our way from north to south through Laos. The boat itself consisted of row after row of hard, wooden benches, which we often abandoned to sit on the floor and play cards. Most of the people on the boat were westerners, making the slow boat somewhat of a tourist affair, but there were a few Laotian people coming on board to sell things or traveling shorter stretches on the river.<br />
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Cruising on the Slow Boat</div>
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Pit Stop at the Local Convenience Store</div>
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A Young Entrepreneur Selling Booze and Smokes</div>
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We really enjoyed the river scenes, with people tending their fishing poles and nets, locals cruising on the long and slender boats typical of Laos, and kids playing in the water. The pristine countryside was really amazing, with nothing but blue skies and green hills the whole trip.<br />
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The Mighty Mekong</div>
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The Local Bus</div>
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Fishing Poles</div>
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Blue Skies and Green Hills</div>
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More Green Hills and Blues Skies</div>
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Playing on Rocks</div>
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Water Buffalo Cooling Off</div>
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After the first day on the river, we stopped in a small town called Pakbeng to stay the night. Like most of the cities in Laos, Pakbeng is a one street town and doesn't have too much going on. However, at night with a clear sky and few lights on in town, it all paid off when I saw more stars than I have seen in many years after living in polluted China.</div>
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Arriving in Pakbeng</div>
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One Street Town </div>
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Local Market</div>
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Wes Melting in Southeast Asian Heat</div>
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The second day of the boat trip was kind of miserable. It was much hotter the second day and the trip lasted a lot longer as well. After the novelty had worn off and the views started to blend together, everyone just wanted to the trip to be done. Finally at the end of the day, we arrived at our destination, Luang Prabang.</div>
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A lot of people call Thailand the "Land of Smiles", but for me I will always remember Thailand as the land of scams. I think the true "Land of Smiles" is Laos. I don't think I've ever been in a country as happy, friendly, and smiling as Laos. The slow boat was just a taste of that and we were able to enjoy it for our three weeks in Laos.</div>
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Locals Eating Laos Style Sticky Rice with Food on Banana Leaf</div>
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A Smiling Laotian</div>
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Another Smiling Laotian</div>
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The Winner of Worst English on a T-Shirt: "Sell the Kids for Food"</div>
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For more pictures of the slow boat trip, see picasa: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/SlowBoatIntoLaos#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/SlowBoatIntoLaos#</a></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-10547354145139402332010-10-19T00:16:00.000-07:002010-10-19T00:18:15.418-07:00Northwest Thailand Hill Tribe Eco-TrekIn the Chiang Mai area there are lots of treks you can do into the undeveloped and rural areas in northwest Thailand. Most of the tours involve some kind of interaction with elephants and visiting some villages. We went with a two-day trip where we would be able to spend the night in a village and mingle with the laid-back country folk.<br />
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The first part of our trip involved an hour or so of elephant riding. They grouped us by twos and threw us on the backs of elephants with a guide sitting on the broad head of the elephant. For the most part, the elephants barely seemed to notice our presence and they would wander around eating plants as they wished. The elephant we rode was the only male and he definitely seemed to have a mind of his own, venturing off the established path to get a choice plant that caught his eye. It was all a bit touristy, but still quite a bit of fun.<br />
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Elephant Camp</div>
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How to Board an Elephant</div>
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Cruising</div>
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The Proper Way to Ride an Elephant</div>
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Our Elephant</div>
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After the elephant ride, we hiked up into the hills and through the jungle to the Lahu village. Our two Thai guides had westernized names, specifically Woody Woodpecker and Johnny Walker. Despite such original names, they were really great guides and provided interesting information about Thai village life.</div>
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Jungle and Mountains</div>
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Profile of the Legendary Johnny Walker</div>
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Hill Tribe Worker</div>
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Arriving at Lahu Village</div>
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After arriving in the village, we spent the evening meeting several of the villagers, eating a homemade meal, and playing games with all the little kids running around. This was the beginning of many chances on our trip to meet a lot of friendly people in small villages. We liked to show the kids how our cameras worked, videos and pictures from earlier times on our trips, and teach them games. They were all curious to learn and seemed to really enjoy it. We also walked around the village being tourists and snapping pictures of all the beautiful countryside and village scenes. There are too many interesting pictures to post all of them here, so check out the picasa link at the end to see more pictures.</div>
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Our Sleeping Quarters with Mosquito Nets</div>
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Preparing Dinner</div>
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Villagers Keeping Us Company</div>
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View from Village</div>
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Huts on Hillside</div>
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Lone Hut with Great View</div>
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Flowers in Village</div>
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Solar Panels! </div>
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Old Woman Smoking Stogy and Helping Slice Up Tree</div>
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The Best Way to Bathe a Baby</div>
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Kids Up to No Good</div>
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Our Trekking Group of Dutch, Turkish, Norwegian, French, and American People</div>
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Sunset Over Valley </div>
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Johnny Walker Managing Dinner Preparations</div>
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After dinner, all the kids from the village did a performance of village songs. After they sang, they asked our trekking group to sing a song for the kids. Someone suggested doing the Macarena, which somehow ended up being a huge hit and proving that the song has universal appeal.</div>
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Kids Singing</div>
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The next day, we hiked out of the hills, stopping at a waterfall along the way. We also did some "whitewater" rafting down a pretty calm stretch of river.</div>
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Fog in the Morning </div>
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Wes with Bananas</div>
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Playing in Waterfall </div>
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Morning Shower</div>
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After hiking out, our trek was done, as was our stay in Thailand. The next day we headed off for Laos, so stay tuned for that.<br />
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For more pictures, see: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/HillTribeEcoTrek02">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/HillTribeEcoTrek02</a></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-81998516547581988682010-10-08T22:45:00.000-07:002010-10-09T03:44:25.576-07:00Chiang Mai<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/export/64381" style="border: 2px solid #cccccc; height: 450px; width: 650px;"></iframe><br />
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The next stop on our trip was Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Phil was actually born in Chiang Mai, where his Dad was working as a young doctor. He had never been back to Chiang Mai since those early days, so it was a nice homecoming of sorts for him. There are still some family friends of his living there, so we were able to get a local's guide and perspective on the city. After arriving, we visited some of Phil's family haunts, such as the house he lived, the hospital where he was born, and where his parents worked.<br />
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Phil's Early Childhood Home</div>
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International School Where Phil's Mom Worked</div>
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Chiang Mai has an old walled part of the city with a lot of temples and unique places to see. Within the walled area, there are lots of restaurants, cafes, bars, and other things to do, but because of the protests and the low season because of the rains, most everything was empty when we visited. Walking around the city, we immediately liked Chiang Mai more than Bangkok. Chiang Mai seemed smaller and more charming, with less pollution and more green areas. There were very few, if any, skyscrapers and everything seemed more laid back. We also felt like things were less touristy, with the temples being free to enter and real monks living there. </div>
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Old City Walls </div>
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Monks in Temples </div>
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Golden Temple</div>
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Tangle of Power Lines Seen Everywhere in Thailand</div>
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Old City Wall at Night</div>
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One of the nights in Chiang Mai, we visited a walking street with vendors selling food and miscellaneous trinkets. Despite having seen many streets like this before, the one in Chiang Mai was really cool and had more interesting things to see than others. There were several groups of blind guys playing nice music on the street and it added a nice atmosphere. For food, you could buy Pad Thai, Satay, or other Thai delicacies and we enjoyed the opportunity to sample several new things. There was also a Night Bazaar in the old city area and we went there to check out the wares and also catch some of the World Cup soccer games being played on TVs in the area.</div>
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Walking Street </div>
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Blind Musicians</div>
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Pad Thai Noodles Straight from the Source </div>
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Thai Satay</div>
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Outdoor Restaurant</div>
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Wanna Buy Some Elephant T-Shirts?</div>
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On our last night in Chiang Mai, we went to Phil's family friends' restaurant called The Gallery. It's a really nice restaurant on the river and has had some pretty swanky guests in the past, such as Hillary Clinton back when Bill was the President. Since the couple is part Swiss and part Thai, the restaurant has some interesting fusions of German and Asian cuisine, my favorite being the mango strudel.</div>
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Mango Strudel</div>
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Myrtha, Phil, and Wes</div>
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The Whole Group at The Gallery </div>
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The Gallery</div>
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We really enjoyed our time in Chiang Mai and northern Thailand. We also did a two day eco-tour trip to some hill tribe villages in the Chiang Mai area, which I will write about in the next post. I highly recommend getting up to Chiang Mai and spending some time relaxing in the city.</div>
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For more pictures, see: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/ChiangMai#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/ChiangMai#</a></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-83070886907118539292010-09-20T22:08:00.000-07:002010-09-20T22:08:11.913-07:00BangkokThe next stop in Thailand was Bangkok. A month or so before we arrived, there had been some violent protests in the city, with even some foreigners getting killed, so we weren't sure if it was going to be safe or not. However, just before we were planning to go to Bangkok, the protesters seemed to have been dispersed and some level of peace established. I wasn't that familiar with the politics of the situation, I was just worried about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. During our time there, though, we didn't have any problems and things seemed to be back to normal, except that the city seemed pretty empty and a lot of the infrastructure built up for tourism was deserted. For a city so reliant on tourism, it must have been a big hit to their economy. Looking on the bright side, it meant for us that we had a lot of the places to ourselves and didn't have to worry about fighting any crowds, although being one of the few tourists around also made us a bigger target for scammers and the like.<br />
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Our first night in Thailand, we decided to check out Thai kickboxing, or Muay Thai. It had come highly recommended and despite being a little expensive, was very worth it. The ticket sellers try to push the ringside seats onto foreigners and charge a hefty premium for them, but Phil and I elected for the upper bowl, which in a small stadium offered nearly as good of a view as the ringside seats. The best part of the upper bowl, though, was being in mix of things with the locals and noise of the crowd.<br />
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Lumpinee Boxing Stadium</div>
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Phil Choosing a Dish from the Sumptuous Bounty</div>
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Previously, I didn't have any exposure to Muay Thai, which made things all the better since everything was new to me. I found the whole atmosphere to be very cool. When the fighters first came out, a small band would start playing music that seemed to come straight of a Hollywood kickboxing movie. The fighters would go through a set routine of stretching and dancing before each fight, which was really interesting at first, but after several fights became monotonous to watch.<br />
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Opening Routine Known as Wai Khru Ram</div>
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During the fights, the fighters would lock up and knee each other in the sides. Each knee would bring an "oomph" sound from the crowd and set off a big round of betting among the locals. The bets were for a surprisingly large amount, but there never seemed to be any trouble with people not paying up. Phil and I tried to figure out how the betting worked, but left as confused as we started. Either way, it added quite a bit of entertainment and made the Muay Thai more exciting.<br />
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Fight and Waves of Betting</div>
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There were a couple good fights, but most of the fighters were pretty young and small. One of the fights was between a couple of foreigners, a guy from France and a guy from Spain, but that match wasn't as good. They mostly reverted to western style boxing, instead of using the kicks and knees that the Thais preferred. Regardless, it was a lot of fun to watch and we had a great time.</div>
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Young Fighters</div>
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Betting in the Stands</div>
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Wai Khru Ram Opening Routine</div>
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Foreigner Fight</div>
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The next day in Bangkok was the day I will always remember as the scam day. It really seemed we went from one person to the next who was trying to scam us or sell us something we didn't want. We started off walking towards the river area and an old, kindly looking man chatted with us for a little while as we were walking, then after establishing trust, started pushing a boat ride through the canals. We bit and decided to take the boat. Despite seeing some slightly interesting things in the ramshackle houses built along the canals, there wasn't too much to see and it seemed like we might have gotten ripped off.</div>
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Houses Built Along Canal</div>
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Floating Market of One Woman Selling Overpriced Goods</div>
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Monks Sitting Along Canal</div>
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Giant Monitor Lizard on Banks of Canal</div>
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The Everlasting Love for the Thai King</div>
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At the end of our canal ride, and after an attempt by our boat driver to pilfer a little more money from us, we went to Wat Arun, one of the main temples in Bangkok. </div>
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War Arun</div>
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Steep Stairs Up Temple</div>
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Gargoyles Holding Up Temple</div>
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Wat Arun</div>
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View of National Palace from Wat Arun</div>
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After Wat Arun, we were planning to go to the Grand Palace, but a policeman told us that it was closed that day and directed us to some other temples. At first, we thought he was being very helpful and were happy, but it turns out we had fallen for one of the classic Bangkok scams. We were taken to one of the main temples, the Golden Mount, but after that, we were taken to jewelry and clothing shops, all trying to push crap on us and scam us. While we didn't lose any money, we did waste our time and it was quite frustrating. If you can't trust a police officer in the capitol city of a country, then there's a problem. Despite being frustrated, we still went around and saw some of the sites of the city, but this time completely ignoring anyone who tried to talk to us, no matter how friendly they seemed.<br />
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Market and Street Food</div>
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Riding in a Tuk Tuk</div>
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Ascending the Golden Mount</div>
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Top of the Golden Mount</div>
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Metropolitan Bangkok</div>
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Traffic Near one of the Protest Areas</div>
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Victory Monument</div>
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On our last day in Bangkok, we finally saw the Grand Palace. The Grand Palace is the highlight of all the tourist sites in Bangkok and contains Buddhist temples, government buildings, and other interesting sites. </div>
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Inside Grand Palace</div>
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Thai Children Doing Thai Greeting</div>
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Gatekeepers</div>
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Strong Gargoyles</div>
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Government Hall</div>
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Change of Guard</div>
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We also went to the nearby Wat Pho, or "Reclining Buddha", which contains the largest reclining Buddha in the world. Not sure why he's reclining, but maybe he just likes to relax. The Buddha is about 150 feet long, which makes for one big reclining Buddha indeed. There are some other interesting Buddhist sites in the temple and we spent some time checking everything out.</div>
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Reclining Buddha</div>
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Mother of Pearl!</div>
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Line of Buddhas</div>
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Phil with Buddha</div>
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I have to admit that even after seeing so many Buddhist temples and sites, I am still not much closer to understanding what it's all about or the significance of many of the features. However, it's still interesting to see and a nice change of style from the Chinese Buddhist temples I've seen so often.</div>
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That wraps up our time in Bangkok. While it might not be my favorite place to visit, it still has enoughto make it worthwhile seeing at least once. We might have had a better experience if we didn't visit right after protests had nearly shut down the city or if we had managed to avoid some of the scams, but what can you do. For now, I'll check it off my list of places to see and leave the pollution and traffic to those who wish to stay longer. And here's a farewell by a well known character:</div>
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Thank You, Come Again</div>
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For more pictures, see: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Bangkok#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Bangkok#</a></div>
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</div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-63250021632581607662010-08-30T19:51:00.000-07:002010-08-31T01:29:22.892-07:00Ko Phi Phi<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/export/64381" style="border: 2px solid #cccccc; height: 400px; width: 650px;"></iframe><br />
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After Singapore, we flew down to Phuket, Thailand. Phuket is kind of a crap town, but you have to go through there to get to some of the nice islands in southern Thailand. After arriving in Phuket, we went to Ko Phi Phi or Phi Phi Island by boat and stayed for a couple days. Ko Phi Phi has some beautiful views and is a great place to relax. There is a town area with restaurants and hotels that is more developed and touristy, but someone had recommended a nice hotel called Viking Resort that is off the main stretch and is a bit more secluded and peaceful. There are a bunch of bungalows to stay in, a private beach, and a nice clubhouse to get good Thai food. We really liked it there and thought it was a great place to stay. For a bit over $10 per person a night, it's hard to beat.<br />
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Viking Resort Taxi</div>
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The Clubhouse</div>
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Path to the Bungalow</div>
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Our Bungalow with Open Air Shower on Right</div>
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Beach near the Resort</div>
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Night Thai Food Sampling</div>
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Fire Twirlers on Beach</div>
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One of the days in Ko Phi Phi we took a boat cruise to some of the sites in the area. You get to swim in some isolated bays with beautiful, clear water, go cliff-diving, snorkel along some coral, and see some neighboring islands and beautiful beaches. </div>
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Cruising Near Rocky Islands</div>
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Clear Water Bay</div>
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Boats in Bay</div>
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Swimming in Clear Water</div>
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Cruising</div>
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The Captain of Our Boat</div>
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Another spot they take you to is Maya Beach, which was made famous by the movie "The Beach", starring the dreamy Leonardo DiCaprio. In real life, it is actually quite beautiful and a great place to visit. You have to jump out of the boat and swim to a rope ladder on some rocks, then walk for a little bit to get to the beach, which adds a little bit of adventure.</div>
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Maya Bay</div>
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Entrance to "The Beach"</div>
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Phil Soaking It In</div>
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Waves Crashing at the Beach</div>
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Lounging</div>
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My favorite part of the boat trip was snorkeling in the coral. I've never done anything like that before, so I was excited to try. It was a really great experience being surrounded by so many colorful fish and seeing the amount of life supported in such a small area. In the salty ocean water it was really easy to just float for awhile and watch the fish, periodically diving down deep to take a close look. I know that stretch of coral we saw is probably pretty plain compared to some of the top reefs in the world, so it really only kindled the beginning of an interest in diving. I would like to do more snorkeling or get a scuba license so I can do some more serious diving in the future.</div>
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Phil had a heavy-duty waterproof bag for his camera we used to take pictures underwater. We couldn't get crystal clear pictures, but it was enough to give an idea. These ones below don't really show how many different kinds of fish there were, but does show how many tiger fish were around.</div>
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Fish Underwater</div>
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Wes Snorkeling</div>
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Right as we were ending our boat trip, an extremely heavy rain came in. It was the rainy season during our whole trip in Southeast Asia. When we were in southern Thailand, it rained on schedule everyday in the afternoon, which was nice in that it cooled things down the rest of the day. In other places we didn't have such regular rain, which would have been nice when it got so hot.</div>
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Heavy Rains Coming In</div>
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Wes and Phil with Boat Driver</div>
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On the last day in Ko Phi Phi, we hiked up to the peak where you can get a nice view of the entire island area. From the viewpoint, you can see the thin strip of sandy land where the town is built. During the Asian tsunami a few years back, apparently the town got completely wiped out. Not a big surprise when you view it from above and see how unprotected it is. </div>
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Town in Ko Phi Phi</div>
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Trees on Hike up to Viewpoint</div>
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The Sign Says it All</div>
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View of Bay</div>
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Don't Worry, This Dude Wasn't as White and Fat at the End of the Trip</div>
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That was pretty much our trip in Ko Phi Phi. It's a really beautiful island and although it is heavily touristed, you can still get some relaxation and enjoy some beautiful nature. As we were leaving the island and taking the boat back to Phuket, we had some great views with the sun out in full force. It was a nice way to give us a good lasting impression about Ko Phi Phi.<br />
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For more pics, see: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/KoPhiPhi#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/KoPhiPhi#</a></div>
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</div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-6995694035126933132010-08-23T18:41:00.000-07:002010-08-23T18:41:35.637-07:00SingaporeOur first stop in Southeast Asia was Singapore. It's an easy staging point to the rest of the region and a good starting point to enjoy the comforts of a developed city before diving into some of the less developed areas. We were also lucky enough to have a friend from Northwestern living in the city to show us around and take us to some of the top eateries in town.<br />
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Being a small island-city-country, Singapore doesn't have a huge number of tourist sites, but it's a very clean, modern city and seems like it would be a nice place to live. For a budget traveler like myself, it was a little on the pricy side, but there is still a lot to see walking around and exploring. Our first night we walked around the river area and met up with our friend Dylan.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THH78gmaQOI/AAAAAAAAJCw/MYMvBay_nGs/s1600/Big+Trip+304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THH78gmaQOI/AAAAAAAAJCw/MYMvBay_nGs/s640/Big+Trip+304.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Singapore Skyline with Lion Fish</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THH8EnLwAII/AAAAAAAAJC4/EcggEehf8Ps/s1600/IMG_6688.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THH8EnLwAII/AAAAAAAAJC4/EcggEehf8Ps/s640/IMG_6688.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Singapore Skyline</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">One of the interesting things about Singapore is the mix of people and fusion of a lot of the Asian cultures. From a western perspective, it might not be what we would normally consider diverse, but upon closer inspection, it's extremely diverse in the Asian sense. There's a mix of Chinese, Indian, Malays, and other Asian groups, with everyone speaking English as one of their native languages (although with a slightly funny accent the locals call Singlish).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The mix of Asian culture and cuisines also makes Singapore a great place for eating. Under the same roof of one of the food courts or food centers in town you can get Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, Thai, Indonesian, or other types of food.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THH_qwowatI/AAAAAAAAJDQ/D8NDh2Udd5c/s1600/IMG_6674.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THH_qwowatI/AAAAAAAAJDQ/D8NDh2Udd5c/s640/IMG_6674.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Food Republic Food Court</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THH7iivi8BI/AAAAAAAAJCo/7qzVIyZD4vQ/s1600/Big+Trip+296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THH7iivi8BI/AAAAAAAAJCo/7qzVIyZD4vQ/s640/Big+Trip+296.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Wes Eating Some Singapore Foodstuffs</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THH_c6lKdCI/AAAAAAAAJDA/q5R6efwIAho/s1600/IMG_6695.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THH_c6lKdCI/AAAAAAAAJDA/q5R6efwIAho/s640/IMG_6695.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Albert Center Food Court</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THH_fBsVYBI/AAAAAAAAJDI/V_GidpYhmYc/s1600/IMG_6698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THH_fBsVYBI/AAAAAAAAJDI/V_GidpYhmYc/s640/IMG_6698.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Fruit Shakes</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We spent the next day wandering around the city, seeing Chinatown, Little India, and the new Marina Bay Sands casino. We got rejected at the casino because we were wearing shorts and sandals, but with the heat and humidity in Singapore we didn't have any regrets about wearing shorts that day. We joked around that Singapore is one big mall, since it seemed like every block had a huge, air-conditioned mall, but at least it was a nice break from the heat. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We didn't run into too many of the strict rules in Singapore, such as the no chewing gum law. Apparently you can bring gum with you into the country, but can't buy it in the stores there. The casino did have kind of a funny rule, though, in that for foreigners it is free to enter, but for Singapore citizens it requires 100 Singapore dollars (~ $75) to enter. Pretty pricy, but ensures they're mostly soaking the tourists and the rich at the casino. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THIBNBlE0cI/AAAAAAAAJDY/cALBUdpEmZI/s1600/IMG_6707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THIBNBlE0cI/AAAAAAAAJDY/cALBUdpEmZI/s640/IMG_6707.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Little India</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THIBQw7ZJcI/AAAAAAAAJDg/uv-_vbrP5IM/s1600/IMG_6708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THIBQw7ZJcI/AAAAAAAAJDg/uv-_vbrP5IM/s640/IMG_6708.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Temple in Little India</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THIBRzBbhgI/AAAAAAAAJDo/0FxkJveYzPU/s1600/IMG_6710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THIBRzBbhgI/AAAAAAAAJDo/0FxkJveYzPU/s640/IMG_6710.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mango Lassi in a Plastic Bag (Yogurt Drink)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THIBwcv5LaI/AAAAAAAAJDw/XragoVbSkLA/s1600/IMG_6713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THIBwcv5LaI/AAAAAAAAJDw/XragoVbSkLA/s640/IMG_6713.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Marina Bay Sands</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THIBxr0UfnI/AAAAAAAAJD4/R9pLGw_XE74/s1600/IMG_6714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THIBxr0UfnI/AAAAAAAAJD4/R9pLGw_XE74/s640/IMG_6714.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Singapore Skyline</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THIB2uOBV0I/AAAAAAAAJEA/LMr0PalhYIc/s1600/IMG_6717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THIB2uOBV0I/AAAAAAAAJEA/LMr0PalhYIc/s640/IMG_6717.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Marina Bay Sands</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">That night we did a night safari at the zoo in Singapore. It came highly recommended and was actually really cool. You walk around on paths with just a few lights lit up to see the animals. Besides the most dangerous ones, most of the animals are not caged, although you'll be separated by a ravine or some barrier. The best part was the flying squirrel and the fruit bat areas. Those areas are sectioned off so that the animals can't get away, but you can walk inside the cages where the animals are. When we were in the flying squirrel area, one of the squirrels jumped from a tree and hit a girl, making her scream pretty loud. The fruit bat area was pretty cool, too, with bats zipping around your head and stretching their wings out in front of you.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THI-vGHbljI/AAAAAAAAJEI/KuZTgjj_Xx4/s1600/IMG_6724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THI-vGHbljI/AAAAAAAAJEI/KuZTgjj_Xx4/s640/IMG_6724.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Fruit Bat Area (See Bat on Banana)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">That night we had one of the best meals of our trip at the Newton Food Center, one of the "hawker centers". It's basically a big open air food center with all different kinds of food available. Some of the specialties in Singapore are the Chili Crab and Sting Ray, both of which were delicious. Our favorite ended up surprisingly being the Sting Ray, which was really tender and mild in flavor. Our friend Dylan took us there with his wife and treated us to a great meal, after which we were all stuffed to the brim.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THJBGSj0OaI/AAAAAAAAJE4/MVyxkmRZZ80/s1600/Big+Trip+317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THJBGSj0OaI/AAAAAAAAJE4/MVyxkmRZZ80/s640/Big+Trip+317.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Wes, Jaslyn, and Dylan</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THMe-Awdh8I/AAAAAAAAJKw/lD8rw_QPanY/s1600/IMG_6728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THMe-Awdh8I/AAAAAAAAJKw/lD8rw_QPanY/s640/IMG_6728.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">Newton Food Center</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THJAZgtk12I/AAAAAAAAJEg/ArxcmGF7olY/s1600/IMG_6731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THJAZgtk12I/AAAAAAAAJEg/ArxcmGF7olY/s640/IMG_6731.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Chili Crab</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THJAbZaJD-I/AAAAAAAAJEo/ZzJikH0DJaQ/s1600/IMG_6732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THJAbZaJD-I/AAAAAAAAJEo/ZzJikH0DJaQ/s640/IMG_6732.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sting Ray</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THJAe-5cqEI/AAAAAAAAJEw/-eeG8Bq_WhM/s1600/IMG_6736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THJAe-5cqEI/AAAAAAAAJEw/-eeG8Bq_WhM/s640/IMG_6736.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Dessert</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">One other "delicacy" in Singapore is the Durian fruit. Durian has a really pungent smell and you can often catch a whiff of it wafting through the air throughout the city. It must be such a big problem in Singapore that they've outlawed it on the subway to avoid people getting asphyxiated in a confined space. I've tasted it before in China, but it doesn't seem as prominent there as in some of the Southeast Asian places we went. I really don't mind the taste, but it does leave an aftertaste for a long time and will result in Durian flavored burps for the better part of a day. It's supposedly very healthy for you and in China they always call it the king of fruits.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THMasr_tWkI/AAAAAAAAJFg/-yFOuPwiDBM/s1600/Durian+Fruit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THMasr_tWkI/AAAAAAAAJFg/-yFOuPwiDBM/s400/Durian+Fruit.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Durian (Although a Small One)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THMYaK0O42I/AAAAAAAAJFQ/KwaGzY6F3c4/s1600/IMG_6719.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/THMYaK0O42I/AAAAAAAAJFQ/KwaGzY6F3c4/s640/IMG_6719.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">No Durians Round These Parts</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We definitely enjoyed Singapore, especially the eating part of it. It was probably some of the best food we ate on the trip. It's a nice city and worth a visit.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">For more pictures, see: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Singapore#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Singapore#</a></div></div></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-59710875344190330902010-08-15T21:56:00.000-07:002010-08-16T21:36:52.104-07:00Guilin, Longji Terraces, Yangshuo, and End of Trip in Hong Kong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After spending several days in the Shanghai and Hangzhou area, we took a flight down to Guilin. I had previously been to that area before, but when I was there the weather was not very good and a lot of the views weren't as good as they normally are supposed to be. There is also a lot to do in the Guilin and Yangshuo area, so it is a good place to spend a few days.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The first day in Guilin, we were planning to head out to the Longji rice terraces, but there were torrential downpours in Guilin city. Everyone was telling us that if we went to the terraces, we wouldn't be able to see anything since they're up in the mountains and it would be foggy there. The last time I had tried to see the terraces, it was also rainy and foggy, so at first I was pretty disappointed I would miss it again. However, after some discussion, we decided to just roll the dice and go out to the terraces. Luckily enough, as soon as we started driving, we got outside the heavy rain and things cleared up more and more the closer we got. The views at the terraces ended up being really beautiful. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Since it was still spring time, the views we had were of a near infinite series of water pools reflecting on the sides of the hills. All four seasons have distinct views on the terraces: spring has the water pools, summer has the green rice plants, fall has the yellow color of rice ready to harvest, and winter has the all white look of snow covered terraces. Maybe someday I'll have a chance to see them all.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTPsGyA2GI/AAAAAAAAI2s/35MR_uLqGl8/s1600/IMG_6512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTPsGyA2GI/AAAAAAAAI2s/35MR_uLqGl8/s640/IMG_6512.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Longji Village</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTLzQ1FHRI/AAAAAAAAI1c/ZX4cP9FJpPM/s1600/IMG_6518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTLzQ1FHRI/AAAAAAAAI1c/ZX4cP9FJpPM/s640/IMG_6518.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Longji Village</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTL3wrCimI/AAAAAAAAI1k/dBfgHPbCdPw/s1600/IMG_6528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTL3wrCimI/AAAAAAAAI1k/dBfgHPbCdPw/s640/IMG_6528.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Phil, Chris, and Derek Walking on Terraces</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTMOOnOjFI/AAAAAAAAI1s/FkniI8Ku0fo/s1600/IMG_6546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTMOOnOjFI/AAAAAAAAI1s/FkniI8Ku0fo/s640/IMG_6546.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Terrace Covered Hills</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTMQjpYK5I/AAAAAAAAI10/lyrZFhsz--A/s1600/IMG_6549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTMQjpYK5I/AAAAAAAAI10/lyrZFhsz--A/s640/IMG_6549.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Terraced Hillside</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTMet9sUSI/AAAAAAAAI2E/YbnV496uORM/s1600/IMG_6558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTMet9sUSI/AAAAAAAAI2E/YbnV496uORM/s640/IMG_6558.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Wes on the Terraces</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTQAIJ6ItI/AAAAAAAAI28/zorjCMWU3r4/s1600/IMG_6552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTQAIJ6ItI/AAAAAAAAI28/zorjCMWU3r4/s640/IMG_6552.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Repairing Terraces</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTMl10dbLI/AAAAAAAAI2U/FezoSPBxhWE/s1600/IMG_6559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTMl10dbLI/AAAAAAAAI2U/FezoSPBxhWE/s640/IMG_6559.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Valley of Terraces and Villages</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTP8hoWvZI/AAAAAAAAI20/yFXhPyU-nmI/s1600/IMG_6567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTP8hoWvZI/AAAAAAAAI20/yFXhPyU-nmI/s640/IMG_6567.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">More Vertical View of Valley</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTM7wg2BRI/AAAAAAAAI2k/7SZxsoSF_EU/s1600/IMG_6566.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGTM7wg2BRI/AAAAAAAAI2k/7SZxsoSF_EU/s640/IMG_6566.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Lone Worker on Terraces</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">After the day trip to the rice terraces, we headed south to Yangshuo. I have previously been to Yangshuo, but it's one of my favorite places in China and incredibly scenic, so I didn't mind going back there. We spent a day biking along the Yulong River, where there are nonstop karst mountains, rice paddies, and river views. </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi5lU_AjqI/AAAAAAAAI3c/28XgLDumdbg/s1600/IMG_6579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi5lU_AjqI/AAAAAAAAI3c/28XgLDumdbg/s640/IMG_6579.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Wes Getting Ready for a Day of Biking<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi5n_CKYTI/AAAAAAAAI3k/TC-BuPeKFP0/s1600/IMG_6582.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi5n_CKYTI/AAAAAAAAI3k/TC-BuPeKFP0/s640/IMG_6582.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Karst Mountains and Rice Paddies<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi5rkk6TmI/AAAAAAAAI3s/opTJm_zJKnA/s1600/IMG_6585.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi5rkk6TmI/AAAAAAAAI3s/opTJm_zJKnA/s640/IMG_6585.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Yulong River<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi66SpkC1I/AAAAAAAAI4c/YnlSgsmbmVo/s1600/IMG_6616.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi66SpkC1I/AAAAAAAAI4c/YnlSgsmbmVo/s640/IMG_6616.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Farmer in Rice Paddy<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi73B8tPgI/AAAAAAAAI4k/ejldGtCqQ8s/s1600/IMG_6622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi73B8tPgI/AAAAAAAAI4k/ejldGtCqQ8s/s640/IMG_6622.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Yangshuo Scenery<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx3xx4HsFn8URVbxNgedl_XVn_2RIYkziV5XJnLZQK11Yj3HjBd__YHUWPijDU5lxJLbQv6GdzXdH1vIHEx2A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Shaky Video on Bike Ride<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">We also rode our bikes out to Moon Hill and took a hike to the top. From the top, there are great 360 degree panoramic views of the whole area. It is really beautiful and worth the steep hike.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi6yY2_4FI/AAAAAAAAI4U/lOFYFfIBTJE/s1600/IMG_6613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi6yY2_4FI/AAAAAAAAI4U/lOFYFfIBTJE/s640/IMG_6613.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Moon Hill</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi6eEhsMfI/AAAAAAAAI30/tT8JoeDeVAo/s1600/IMG_6601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi6eEhsMfI/AAAAAAAAI30/tT8JoeDeVAo/s640/IMG_6601.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Phil, Wes, Chris, and Derek at Moon Hill</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi6oPdCQcI/AAAAAAAAI4E/xdPUamZEmqc/s1600/IMG_6608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi6oPdCQcI/AAAAAAAAI4E/xdPUamZEmqc/s640/IMG_6608.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Valley from Moon Hill</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi6sAGB7UI/AAAAAAAAI4M/a92_gYnjCs8/s1600/IMG_6609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi6sAGB7UI/AAAAAAAAI4M/a92_gYnjCs8/s640/IMG_6609.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">View from Moon Hill</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Besides biking around in the countryside outside of the city, you can spend some time within the city of Yangshuo itself. The views from even the rooftop of our hostel were amazing. The main West Street area, although it's a bit touristy, is fun to spend some time in as well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi8-PxJ5KI/AAAAAAAAI4s/1IhH02EgUhA/s1600/IMG_6660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi8-PxJ5KI/AAAAAAAAI4s/1IhH02EgUhA/s640/IMG_6660.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">West Street</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi9Fh_qGBI/AAAAAAAAI40/ptKlLNzaM2g/s1600/IMG_6658.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi9Fh_qGBI/AAAAAAAAI40/ptKlLNzaM2g/s640/IMG_6658.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Canal Side Cafe</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi9M_JX09I/AAAAAAAAI48/PDyDhmgAZhE/s1600/IMG_6623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi9M_JX09I/AAAAAAAAI48/PDyDhmgAZhE/s640/IMG_6623.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">View from Hostel</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi9PTsBNsI/AAAAAAAAI5E/VQB6CNyxUDk/s1600/IMG_6626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi9PTsBNsI/AAAAAAAAI5E/VQB6CNyxUDk/s640/IMG_6626.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">View from Hostel</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi_WKVSiQI/AAAAAAAAI9c/JoamQqNgw8E/s1600/IMG_6573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi_WKVSiQI/AAAAAAAAI9c/JoamQqNgw8E/s640/IMG_6573.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Night View from Hostel</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi_XSMpAoI/AAAAAAAAI9k/gulJ-ufsOak/s1600/IMG_6570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi_XSMpAoI/AAAAAAAAI9k/gulJ-ufsOak/s640/IMG_6570.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Late Night Street Barbecue near West Street</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">On our last day in Yangshuo, we took a cruise on a bamboo boat down the Li Jiang or Li River. It's one of the most famous sites of China and a really beautiful stretch of mountains and river.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi9pTgGQHI/AAAAAAAAI5M/FnEJwigufxQ/s1600/IMG_6645.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi9pTgGQHI/AAAAAAAAI5M/FnEJwigufxQ/s640/IMG_6645.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Wes on Cruise</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi9y55FWyI/AAAAAAAAI5U/y8Y3DJojSsU/s1600/IMG_6646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi9y55FWyI/AAAAAAAAI5U/y8Y3DJojSsU/s640/IMG_6646.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Li River</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi9-whEkAI/AAAAAAAAI5c/TdvEJMxH8xo/s1600/IMG_6649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi9-whEkAI/AAAAAAAAI5c/TdvEJMxH8xo/s640/IMG_6649.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Boys Cruisin</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi-HXh0ETI/AAAAAAAAI5k/9tjUdM0HWuE/s1600/IMG_6656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGi-HXh0ETI/AAAAAAAAI5k/9tjUdM0HWuE/s640/IMG_6656.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Li River</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">After our time in Yangshuo, we went back to Guilin to take a night train down to Shenzhen and eventually cross the border to Hong Kong. Derek had to leave, so it just left three of us. Hong Kong is always a great place to visit and we were excited to get down there. Chris had very kindly used some of his hotel points to book us a room with an amazing view and rooftop pool at the W Hotel. We only had a single day and night in Hong Kong, so we couldn't see too much. It was also raining pretty hard throughout the afternoon and early evening, but we made the most of it. We also met up with some fellow Northwestern alums and ate a great dinner at a Korean barbecue.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGjAG31ZIMI/AAAAAAAAJBg/RFGFDn1uceM/s1600/IMG_6661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGjAG31ZIMI/AAAAAAAAJBg/RFGFDn1uceM/s640/IMG_6661.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">W Hotel Room</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGjAH0rydAI/AAAAAAAAJBs/hcR8AvyqFRQ/s1600/IMG_6662.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGjAH0rydAI/AAAAAAAAJBs/hcR8AvyqFRQ/s640/IMG_6662.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">View of Busy Harbor from Hotel Room</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGjAIdA9YaI/AAAAAAAAJB0/A6-rNl3uvac/s1600/IMG_6663.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGjAIdA9YaI/AAAAAAAAJB0/A6-rNl3uvac/s640/IMG_6663.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Infinity Pool on W Hotel Rooftop</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGjB5Y3iHVI/AAAAAAAAJCA/ppMMAb7J05o/s1600/IMG_6670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TGjB5Y3iHVI/AAAAAAAAJCA/ppMMAb7J05o/s640/IMG_6670.jpg" width="640" /></a>Hong Kong Skyline at Night</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Hong Kong was the end of the China trip and after our time there, Chris had to head back to the US, whereas it was time for Phil and I to start the Southeast Asia part of our trip. Stay tuned for the next leg of the trip: Singapore!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">For more pictures, see: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/LongjiTerraces#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/LongjiTerraces#</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Yangshuo02#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Yangshuo02#</a></div></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-30907808990185931392010-08-08T22:05:00.000-07:002010-08-08T22:05:21.282-07:00Wuzhen and HangzhouThe next stop on the China trip was a half day trip to an historic river town call Wuzhen. I'd previously been to another river town called Xitang and while Wuzhen is similar, it's also a lot more built up and developed. Wuzhen is mostly a tourist destination now, whereas Xitang still had people living within the historic area. However, despite Xitang being potentially more authentic, Wuzhen was in a lot of ways more beautiful.<br />
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The river towns are built around canals with old style Chinese buildings lining the water. They are very picturesque and even more so at night, with the water reflecting the lights.<br />
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We spent an afternoon and evening in Wuzhen, walking around and eating some of the local food. It's a pretty peaceful place to visit.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-Dv86m-aI/AAAAAAAAIr0/tHS-HkyLIc8/s1600/IMG_6453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-Dv86m-aI/AAAAAAAAIr0/tHS-HkyLIc8/s640/IMG_6453.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-EBvL77OI/AAAAAAAAIsU/dVfAqhl8gRc/s1600/Big+Trip+126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-EBvL77OI/AAAAAAAAIsU/dVfAqhl8gRc/s640/Big+Trip+126.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-EDfA5t7I/AAAAAAAAIsc/kzcofAyTWUs/s1600/Big+Trip+130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-EDfA5t7I/AAAAAAAAIsc/kzcofAyTWUs/s640/Big+Trip+130.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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After Wuzhen, we spent the next three days in Hangzhou. I took the guys to all the usual spots in Hangzhou, biking around West Lake, the historical Hefang Street, and some of the pagodas.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-HPdMwZSI/AAAAAAAAIs0/crZKwgrCrL0/s1600/Big+Trip+142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-HPdMwZSI/AAAAAAAAIs0/crZKwgrCrL0/s640/Big+Trip+142.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Chris, Wes, and Derek at West Lake</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-HU_SHfCI/AAAAAAAAIs8/mzffX6rFDjA/s1600/Big+Trip+144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-HU_SHfCI/AAAAAAAAIs8/mzffX6rFDjA/s640/Big+Trip+144.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">West Lake</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-Hbwk7ZZI/AAAAAAAAItM/aCbT2L-as3Y/s1600/Big+Trip+150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-Hbwk7ZZI/AAAAAAAAItM/aCbT2L-as3Y/s640/Big+Trip+150.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Tree Lined Path</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-HdXfCD_I/AAAAAAAAItU/xcZJKoIWnXY/s1600/Big+Trip+151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-HdXfCD_I/AAAAAAAAItU/xcZJKoIWnXY/s640/Big+Trip+151.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Gardens and Bridge</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-He-I2VqI/AAAAAAAAItc/-iozvhKoGQQ/s1600/Big+Trip+152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-He-I2VqI/AAAAAAAAItc/-iozvhKoGQQ/s640/Big+Trip+152.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Traditional Chinese Medicine Shop on Hefang Street</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-HfppQIMI/AAAAAAAAItk/ZuVAWONj84E/s1600/Big+Trip+153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-HfppQIMI/AAAAAAAAItk/ZuVAWONj84E/s640/Big+Trip+153.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Baochu Pagoda</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-HisoG25I/AAAAAAAAIts/l_ISI_M-J-Y/s1600/Big+Trip+155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-HisoG25I/AAAAAAAAIts/l_ISI_M-J-Y/s640/Big+Trip+155.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Boys at Baochu</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-H2P7df-I/AAAAAAAAIuE/m8rJ35C6TLc/s1600/IMG_6489.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-H2P7df-I/AAAAAAAAIuE/m8rJ35C6TLc/s640/IMG_6489.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">West Lake and Hangzhou</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-HyuRGjvI/AAAAAAAAIt8/cqZ2DE2V560/s1600/IMG_6495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-HyuRGjvI/AAAAAAAAIt8/cqZ2DE2V560/s640/IMG_6495.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Derek and Phil at Chinese BBQ</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-H9CZUMjI/AAAAAAAAIuM/SGmpsaIf4oA/s1600/Big+Trip+178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-H9CZUMjI/AAAAAAAAIuM/SGmpsaIf4oA/s640/Big+Trip+178.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Late Night Street Food at Baishaquan</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-IAMjnn-I/AAAAAAAAIuU/I8OcEo38ets/s1600/Big+Trip+192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-IAMjnn-I/AAAAAAAAIuU/I8OcEo38ets/s640/Big+Trip+192.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Meat Sandwiches</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We also rode bikes to the tea terraces at Longjing Village in the southwest of Hangzhou. It's a great place to relax, drink tea, and have some nice views.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-KZ0V3QrI/AAAAAAAAI0g/W9PFGrc7oJs/s1600/Big+Trip+184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-KZ0V3QrI/AAAAAAAAI0g/W9PFGrc7oJs/s640/Big+Trip+184.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Buying Tea at Longjing</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-Kc4QHAwI/AAAAAAAAI00/atEOuum4g-Y/s1600/Big+Trip+188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-Kc4QHAwI/AAAAAAAAI00/atEOuum4g-Y/s640/Big+Trip+188.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Wes Preparing Tea Leaves</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-KgoAF4qI/AAAAAAAAI08/LyvbDwTMtbk/s1600/Big+Trip+191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TF-KgoAF4qI/AAAAAAAAI08/LyvbDwTMtbk/s640/Big+Trip+191.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Line Dancing at Longjing Village</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It was cool to have my friends come visit in Hangzhou and to show them around my hood. We saw a lot of cool things, ate some good food, and caught up on all the old and new.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">For more pictures see:</div><div style="text-align: left;">Wuzhen - <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Wuzhen#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Wuzhen#</a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Hangzhou - <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/HangzhouVisit#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/HangzhouVisit#</a></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-63434904360542834532010-08-03T22:20:00.000-07:002010-08-03T22:20:29.420-07:00Shanghai Expo and Start of Summer TravelsIt's been awhile since I updated the blog here, the main reason being that I spent most of the summer traveling around Asia. Luckily enough, I negotiated some leave from my work so that I could meet up with some of my old Northwestern buddies in China and then do some more traveling through Southeast Asia with Phil. Since there are too many places to write about, I'll probably do less detailed posts than normal and just post a few of my favorite pictures with some comments.<br />
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To start out the trip, four of us met up in Shanghai. Phil flew in from Zurich, Switzerland, Chris flew in from San Francisco, USA, and Derek flew in from Beijing, China, all with varying levels of jetlag.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjtk80moGI/AAAAAAAAIls/j5MATEL9_V8/s1600/IMG_6354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjtk80moGI/AAAAAAAAIls/j5MATEL9_V8/s640/IMG_6354.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Nanjing Road</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjtoEQm8CI/AAAAAAAAIl0/-lqjPHaGajM/s1600/IMG_6360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjtoEQm8CI/AAAAAAAAIl0/-lqjPHaGajM/s640/IMG_6360.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">View of Pudong</div><br />
We mainly met in Shanghai because it was the easiest place for everyone to fly to and also because the Shanghai Expo was going on. In China they say that the 2008 Beijing Olympics brought China to the world, whereas the Expo is a chance to bring the world to China. At the expo there are large pavilions for most of the countries of the world that allow Chinese people to catch a glimpse of the cultures of some of these other countries.<br />
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We went at night to avoid some of the huge crowds and heat. The expo itself is ok, but there are huge lines for all the pavilions and once you get inside a pavilion, there isn't too much interesting to see. The best thing is to just walk around and see the pavilions from the outside.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuG-05VII/AAAAAAAAIl8/oWXXrL3prcI/s1600/IMG_6368.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuG-05VII/AAAAAAAAIl8/oWXXrL3prcI/s640/IMG_6368.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">European Pavilion Area</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuMEz4NFI/AAAAAAAAImE/NlCh6gE_CwI/s1600/IMG_6384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuMEz4NFI/AAAAAAAAImE/NlCh6gE_CwI/s640/IMG_6384.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">UK Pavilion</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuQtzjcwI/AAAAAAAAImM/HeFSWQfLN2k/s1600/IMG_6393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuQtzjcwI/AAAAAAAAImM/HeFSWQfLN2k/s640/IMG_6393.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">USA Pavilion (Boring Office Building or Car Dealership Style)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuaogBZ8I/AAAAAAAAImU/snfkuvubG1I/s1600/IMG_6372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuaogBZ8I/AAAAAAAAImU/snfkuvubG1I/s640/IMG_6372.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Spanish Pavilion with Long Lines</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuhHpwPpI/AAAAAAAAImc/u_nVvmPJK7o/s1600/IMG_6397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuhHpwPpI/AAAAAAAAImc/u_nVvmPJK7o/s640/IMG_6397.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Canada Pavilion</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuk0YpF8I/AAAAAAAAImk/xtKPKcoitoc/s1600/IMG_6405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuk0YpF8I/AAAAAAAAImk/xtKPKcoitoc/s640/IMG_6405.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">China Pavilion (On Right)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjurtXnjGI/AAAAAAAAIms/oMpqZUABIbE/s1600/IMG_6412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjurtXnjGI/AAAAAAAAIms/oMpqZUABIbE/s640/IMG_6412.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">South Korea Pavilion</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuv8VL59I/AAAAAAAAIm0/S4-W_sZmRHY/s1600/IMG_6416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/TFjuv8VL59I/AAAAAAAAIm0/S4-W_sZmRHY/s640/IMG_6416.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Axis of Evil Pavilions (North Korea - left and Iran - right)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It was great to meet up with some of my old college buddies after not seeing some of them for two years. We had around 10 days of traveling in China, so there will be another post or two of China before I get to the Southeast Asia pictures. Stay tuned!<br />
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For more pictures, see: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/ShanghaiExpo#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/ShanghaiExpo#</a></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-70356685290808207192010-04-25T22:11:00.000-07:002010-04-25T23:13:47.328-07:00Hangzhou: Baoshi Hill and Yingzhou IsletRecently, I had a day off from work and a three day weekend for "Tomb Sweeping Day," which is something roughly equivalent to Memorial Day, a day to remember ancestors. Since the big nationwide holidays in China lead to all the tourist sites being extremely crowded with inflated prices, I decided to stay in Hangzhou and see some things I hadn't seen before. Actually, some of the places are major tourist sites in Hangzhou, but I had just been putting them off for one reason or another.<br />
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During this weekend, I should mention that I cracked open some Stagg Chili I smuggled in from the US and mixed in the usual cheese, chipotle flavored Tobasco, and salsa. While I did have to eat the Chili from a Chinese bowl and use a cutesy Chinese-style spoon, I felt for a short moment that I was back in Chicago devouring some microwaved Chili as a usual quick and unhealthy dinner.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UqLdlBB5I/AAAAAAAAIgM/bjed5njgbsk/s1600/IMG_5947.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UqLdlBB5I/AAAAAAAAIgM/bjed5njgbsk/s640/IMG_5947.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
One of the days I hiked along the Baoshi Hill, which is very near the area where my new apartment is located. It's not a very steep or demanding hike, but hiking from one end to the other is pretty enjoyable and you can see several different interesting things along the way. There were old-style Chinese houses, Buddhist temples, and several gardens dotted along the path.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UbeIZohGI/AAAAAAAAIcs/5KwkNCuvbSo/s1600/IMG_5948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UbeIZohGI/AAAAAAAAIcs/5KwkNCuvbSo/s640/IMG_5948.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Old-Style Chinese Housing</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UbgI6hiHI/AAAAAAAAIc0/62ErRwcjEw0/s1600/IMG_5951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UbgI6hiHI/AAAAAAAAIc0/62ErRwcjEw0/s640/IMG_5951.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Old-Style Lane</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UbsKZRLEI/AAAAAAAAIdM/l_8sxSfmYUI/s1600/IMG_5952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UbsKZRLEI/AAAAAAAAIdM/l_8sxSfmYUI/s640/IMG_5952.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Baoshi Hill Path</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UbqJjEnzI/AAAAAAAAIc8/naCkESYCJU0/s1600/IMG_5961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UbqJjEnzI/AAAAAAAAIc8/naCkESYCJU0/s640/IMG_5961.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Temple Tucked into Rocky Cave</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">One interesting thing was that there were a lot of people singing, playing instruments, and dancing in some of the larger public areas. I'm not sure if it was because of the weekend or the holiday or if they're always there. Most of the people were a bit older, so it was definitely a good time to sit back and watch them perform some of the classical Chinese singing and dancing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UdWHrnXfI/AAAAAAAAIdU/v9INenqnEq0/s1600/IMG_5958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UdWHrnXfI/AAAAAAAAIdU/v9INenqnEq0/s640/IMG_5958.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Singing with Accompaniment</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UdiCQ_zOI/AAAAAAAAIdc/4IiKO9vJivs/s1600/IMG_5970.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UdiCQ_zOI/AAAAAAAAIdc/4IiKO9vJivs/s640/IMG_5970.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Group Singing in Large Public Square</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Udjlv7lrI/AAAAAAAAIdk/Yls7mijuPnI/s1600/IMG_5971.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Udjlv7lrI/AAAAAAAAIdk/Yls7mijuPnI/s640/IMG_5971.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Some Dancing with Twirling Handkerchiefs</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Along the Baoshi Hill path, there's a garden area called Yellow Dragon Cave that doesn't really contain a cave at all. Lots of places in China seem to have the name cave in them, but will not contain anything that I would consider to be a cave. It had some interesting sites, but nothing really too spectacular. Since I'm usually more interesting in taking pictures of weird things, I liked the guy riding around in a duck boat cleaning garbage the most.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UgkocerNI/AAAAAAAAIds/e7vZzFNaBzM/s1600/IMG_5974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UgkocerNI/AAAAAAAAIds/e7vZzFNaBzM/s640/IMG_5974.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Yellow Dragon</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UgnHaACeI/AAAAAAAAId0/YZrICRtWu28/s1600/IMG_5979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UgnHaACeI/AAAAAAAAId0/YZrICRtWu28/s640/IMG_5979.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Man Cleaning Garbage in Duck Boat</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UgowWBm5I/AAAAAAAAId8/WsaytFkUW_0/s1600/IMG_5987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UgowWBm5I/AAAAAAAAId8/WsaytFkUW_0/s640/IMG_5987.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Contains 4 Babies (Horizontal and Vertical) and Provides Good Luck if You Rub Their Butts</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The main reason to hike along Baoshi Hill is to see the 1000 year old Baochu Pagoda. It's not too high up, but provides great views of the city and West Lake.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UjJL3MUwI/AAAAAAAAIek/WTD2K8bgahw/s1600/IMG_5993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UjJL3MUwI/AAAAAAAAIek/WTD2K8bgahw/s640/IMG_5993.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Gu Hill (In Front) and Islets of West Lake</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Uh_ImzBCI/AAAAAAAAIeE/Il1Efj-t7UU/s1600/IMG_6001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Uh_ImzBCI/AAAAAAAAIeE/Il1Efj-t7UU/s640/IMG_6001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Wes with Baochu Pagoda, Hangzhou City, and West Lake</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UiLfQKXPI/AAAAAAAAIeM/fMw9LN0T1qo/s1600/IMG_6013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UiLfQKXPI/AAAAAAAAIeM/fMw9LN0T1qo/s640/IMG_6013.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Baochu Pagoda and Downtown Hangzhou</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UiR_R1VAI/AAAAAAAAIeU/ktJjozw-GcM/s1600/IMG_6020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UiR_R1VAI/AAAAAAAAIeU/ktJjozw-GcM/s640/IMG_6020.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Broken Bridge and West Lake</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UibQ93WXI/AAAAAAAAIec/_5vXC0AN41g/s1600/IMG_6024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UibQ93WXI/AAAAAAAAIec/_5vXC0AN41g/s640/IMG_6024.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Baochu Pagoda</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Later on during my holiday weekend, I decided to take one of the "Pleasure Boats" to the Yangzhou Islet in West Lake. I have never done it before because it's kind of pricey, but I figured for my vacation at home weekend I could afford it. Despite my initial fear about what type of services the "Pleasure Boat" would provide, I decided to try it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Ukh5QyOdI/AAAAAAAAIes/mYyTU-2VMKA/s1600/IMG_6034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Ukh5QyOdI/AAAAAAAAIes/mYyTU-2VMKA/s640/IMG_6034.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Cruising on West Lake</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UklWuKbUI/AAAAAAAAIe0/LdNNjpgSQzg/s1600/IMG_6036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UklWuKbUI/AAAAAAAAIe0/LdNNjpgSQzg/s640/IMG_6036.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Row of "Pleasure Boats"</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">After arriving on the island and walking around for awhile, it became apparent that the whole place is super touristy. Nevertheless, it provides great views of a lot of the sites around West Lake.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Ul2Y18Q6I/AAAAAAAAIe8/zyc9qwR2qa0/s1600/IMG_6051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Ul2Y18Q6I/AAAAAAAAIe8/zyc9qwR2qa0/s640/IMG_6051.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Pavilion on Yingzhou Islet</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Ul_AEvxPI/AAAAAAAAIfE/WV_CrgZ2cu0/s1600/IMG_6055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Ul_AEvxPI/AAAAAAAAIfE/WV_CrgZ2cu0/s640/IMG_6055.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Chenhuang Pavilion at a Distance</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UmJEvjwCI/AAAAAAAAIfM/gCJqN472nGw/s1600/IMG_6059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UmJEvjwCI/AAAAAAAAIfM/gCJqN472nGw/s640/IMG_6059.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Leifeng Pagoda</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">While there were a few foreign "laowai's" like myself there, the majority of tourists were of course Chinese. Normally, the local Hangzhou people aren't too taken back by seeing foreigners, but some of the tourists there were pretty interested and I had several requests to have my picture taken with them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Uoz93imGI/AAAAAAAAIf8/Quh6JCucC6Q/s1600/IMG_6061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Uoz93imGI/AAAAAAAAIf8/Quh6JCucC6Q/s640/IMG_6061.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Best Way to Eat an Apple is While Squatting</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UmweRdaTI/AAAAAAAAIfU/15Gcax9k3I8/s1600/IMG_6062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9UmweRdaTI/AAAAAAAAIfU/15Gcax9k3I8/s640/IMG_6062.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Um5Ks4OUI/AAAAAAAAIfc/qUoxR0oZ_Gs/s1600/IMG_6063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Um5Ks4OUI/AAAAAAAAIfc/qUoxR0oZ_Gs/s640/IMG_6063.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The main draw of the island is to catch a glimpse of the "Three Pools Mirroring the Moon" site. There are these three pagoda spires in the lake that have candles lit inside when there's a full moon, supposedly producing a pretty dramatic effect. However, most people just go during the day and snap a photo like myself, removing some of the mystique.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Un24nnKwI/AAAAAAAAIfk/4B0h75iGiV4/s1600/IMG_6068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Un24nnKwI/AAAAAAAAIfk/4B0h75iGiV4/s640/IMG_6068.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">All Three Pagodas in the Water</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Un6kmiOyI/AAAAAAAAIfs/7b3vLoy_XiQ/s1600/IMG_6072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Un6kmiOyI/AAAAAAAAIfs/7b3vLoy_XiQ/s640/IMG_6072.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Pagoda with Lake Traffic</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Un_HLpApI/AAAAAAAAIf0/aR7aEJU98i0/s1600/IMG_6078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S9Un_HLpApI/AAAAAAAAIf0/aR7aEJU98i0/s640/IMG_6078.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Pagoda Spire with Bridge</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Staying in Hangzhou for the weekend was a nice break from the usual holiday travel rush in China. I didn't have to cram into any buses or trains, deal with too many huge crowds of people, or worry about a place to sleep. While there was nothing new about the views I saw, it's always a good to get to know the city you live in a bit more.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">For some more pictures of Hangzhou, see: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/HangzhouBaoshiHillAndYingzhouIslet#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/HangzhouBaoshiHillAndYingzhouIslet#</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-82410913292053803022010-04-14T18:09:00.000-07:002010-04-14T18:09:34.125-07:00Utah During Chinese New YearSince I had about two weeks off during Chinese New Year, I took the opportunity to go back home to Utah to visit my family. It had been over one year since my last trip home, so it was definitely overdue. Despite that trip finishing over a month ago (as you can see I'm a little behind on the blog), I am going to post a few pictures.<br />
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Since all the family was together at one time, my mom organized a family photo session. Everyone was able to come: my parents; my brother and his wife and kids; my sister and her husband and son; even me and my solo act, which ruined the trend of multi-generational nuclear families. We went to an old train station, where they have a bunch of old trains and cool things to take pictures with. The pictures turned out pretty great.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q3JBSCpBI/AAAAAAAAIUA/Bp8vFUAeQz0/s1600/24744_1223755644377_1543568243_30565891_5878385_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q3JBSCpBI/AAAAAAAAIUA/Bp8vFUAeQz0/s640/24744_1223755644377_1543568243_30565891_5878385_n.jpg" width="458" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Original Five</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q3m2_3yFI/AAAAAAAAIUI/hjFmVwmp1rY/s1600/24744_1223754644352_1543568243_30565867_1425378_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q3m2_3yFI/AAAAAAAAIUI/hjFmVwmp1rY/s640/24744_1223754644352_1543568243_30565867_1425378_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Whole Family</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q5TaqMh5I/AAAAAAAAIUw/xkty6GzUALU/s1600/24744_1223755804381_1543568243_30565895_6039774_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q5TaqMh5I/AAAAAAAAIUw/xkty6GzUALU/s640/24744_1223755804381_1543568243_30565895_6039774_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Whole Family in Black and White</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q37JokRQI/AAAAAAAAIUQ/XNfBDqzcXFY/s1600/24744_1223754924359_1543568243_30565874_2104638_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q37JokRQI/AAAAAAAAIUQ/XNfBDqzcXFY/s640/24744_1223754924359_1543568243_30565874_2104638_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Emily, Sawyer, and Jeremy</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q4BxFbeiI/AAAAAAAAIUY/muQy_duMU-8/s1600/24744_1223755004361_1543568243_30565876_8043117_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q4BxFbeiI/AAAAAAAAIUY/muQy_duMU-8/s640/24744_1223755004361_1543568243_30565876_8043117_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Kyle, Parker, Amy, and Gage</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q5o0YaltI/AAAAAAAAIU4/RtxiXxDKIsw/s1600/24744_1223755324369_1543568243_30565884_1136983_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="510" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q5o0YaltI/AAAAAAAAIU4/RtxiXxDKIsw/s640/24744_1223755324369_1543568243_30565884_1136983_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Wes, Parker, and Kyle</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q4RmwFYpI/AAAAAAAAIUg/tK2yViddQng/s1600/24744_1223756164390_1543568243_30565903_7681678_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8Q4RmwFYpI/AAAAAAAAIUg/tK2yViddQng/s640/24744_1223756164390_1543568243_30565903_7681678_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Parker, Gage, and Sawyer</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">For me the whole trip was about seeing family and friends who I hadn't seen for a long time. Well, that and eating lots of food that I had been missing in China. I definitely gained a bit of weight after eating so many big meals, but it was worth it.<br />
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My brother and his family stayed over at my parents' house for a weekend, so I was able to spend some in depth time with them. I was great to spend time with Gage and have Parker serve me burgers and chocolate milk in the play kitchen. Since my sister lives close to my parents, I was also able to see her and Sawyer a lot throughout my visit and saw how much energy that little man has. Besides that, we had a big lunch with the Allred side of the family, visited grandparents, and went to a cousin's wedding on the Roylance side of the family, so I pretty much covered everyone on both sides of the family.<br />
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As much as I could, I also met up with friends from the old days, although lots of them are married now and are starting to have their own families, which makes it a bit harder to meet up.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WHVHNfKGI/AAAAAAAAIVA/0bCpfMIhrww/s1600/IMG_5825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WHVHNfKGI/AAAAAAAAIVA/0bCpfMIhrww/s640/IMG_5825.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sawyer Wanting My Camera</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WHje_PfaI/AAAAAAAAIVI/wOszVrR0QY4/s1600/IMG_5858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WHje_PfaI/AAAAAAAAIVI/wOszVrR0QY4/s640/IMG_5858.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Grandma and Grandpa Roylance<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8ZeYm6Z2fI/AAAAAAAAIWY/dAGIkGb1Gtk/s1600/IMG_5857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8ZeYm6Z2fI/AAAAAAAAIWY/dAGIkGb1Gtk/s640/IMG_5857.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>Amazing Painting of My Grandpa Roylance by My Brother</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WKE6lMnTI/AAAAAAAAIVo/dZ62qFkjX6s/s1600/IMG_5820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WKE6lMnTI/AAAAAAAAIVo/dZ62qFkjX6s/s640/IMG_5820.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">A Bearded Grizzly Matt</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WKWkk0lWI/AAAAAAAAIVw/_W15G9rIkDk/s1600/IMG_5859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WKWkk0lWI/AAAAAAAAIVw/_W15G9rIkDk/s640/IMG_5859.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Skeeter</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WJvHCdhiI/AAAAAAAAIVY/hTfaNi26KKo/s1600/IMG_5836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WJvHCdhiI/AAAAAAAAIVY/hTfaNi26KKo/s640/IMG_5836.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mole at the Red Iguana</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WJ6aLNysI/AAAAAAAAIVg/b4SVgD4yZzU/s1600/IMG_5860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WJ6aLNysI/AAAAAAAAIVg/b4SVgD4yZzU/s640/IMG_5860.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Chipotle Burrito</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Besides family and friends, the nicest part about being home was having blue skies nearly every day, unblocked and fast internet, and no crowds of people. Taking a leisurely drive with no traffic and mountains in the distance was definitely a nice change of pace.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WLEKqgnbI/AAAAAAAAIV4/cZpCVpJq990/s1600/IMG_5838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WLEKqgnbI/AAAAAAAAIV4/cZpCVpJq990/s640/IMG_5838.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Ben Lomond Peak Under Clouds</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WLXfUkjsI/AAAAAAAAIWA/yxl76rE4Hlo/s1600/IMG_5850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WLXfUkjsI/AAAAAAAAIWA/yxl76rE4Hlo/s640/IMG_5850.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Historic 25th Street in Ogden</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WLecSWvqI/AAAAAAAAIWI/gqB1cpEBPck/s1600/IMG_5852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8WLecSWvqI/AAAAAAAAIWI/gqB1cpEBPck/s640/IMG_5852.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ogden Union Station</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8ZeEQNQxKI/AAAAAAAAIWQ/0JQHA_wr1og/s1600/IMG_5853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8ZeEQNQxKI/AAAAAAAAIWQ/0JQHA_wr1og/s640/IMG_5853.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mount Ogden</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
I was lucky that the time I was back in the US coincided with the winter olympics. Since I had a lot of free time, I was able to watch most of the main events. It was great to watch the snowboard and ski events. I especially liked the snowboard cross.<br />
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Towards the end of the trip, my parents and I went to a Utah Jazz basketball game, which I haven't done in a long time. Unfortunately, the Jazz lost and their best player Deron Williams didn't play, but it was great to see a live game.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8ZfLgdQRFI/AAAAAAAAIWg/8QVB5PccsdQ/s1600/IMG_5861.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8ZfLgdQRFI/AAAAAAAAIWg/8QVB5PccsdQ/s640/IMG_5861.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8ZfRChtCMI/AAAAAAAAIWo/Lm_RnP0lNME/s1600/IMG_5862.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8ZfRChtCMI/AAAAAAAAIWo/Lm_RnP0lNME/s640/IMG_5862.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Unfortunately, like all good things, my time in Utah came quickly to an end. The two weeks seemed to fly by. It was really great to see all my family and to see how fast all my nephews are growing up. There's even one more nephew on the way in Kyle and Amy's family, so they're going to have three boys soon! Hopefully in the future I'll be able to see them more often than once a year. Thanks everyone for making my trip special.<br />
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Before I knew it, I had to fly back to China. I had another quick stop in San Francisco, so I squeezed in another short visit with Chris and Dara and grabbed some breakfast, then I headed from San Francisco to Shanghai. I always enjoy flying from the US back to China because you fly in an arc high to the north, over Alaska and the northern parts of Russia. Probably it is the same route going to the US from China, but normally it's at night time on that flight so you can't see. While lots of people are sleeping, I spend the time looking out the window at the huge ice sheets and pure white landscape as far as the eye can see.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8ZiIUXdUOI/AAAAAAAAIa8/Q-XgiVzwgEM/s1600/IMG_5873.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8ZiIUXdUOI/AAAAAAAAIa8/Q-XgiVzwgEM/s640/IMG_5873.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ice Sheets Floating on the Ocean</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8ZiSiOMvNI/AAAAAAAAIbg/hdNAvScDmPQ/s1600/IMG_5882.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S8ZiSiOMvNI/AAAAAAAAIbg/hdNAvScDmPQ/s640/IMG_5882.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Snow Covered Landscape Over Russia</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">For more pictures, check out: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/UtahDuringChineseNewYears#">picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/UtahDuringChineseNewYears#</a></div></div></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-4966021205728606782010-03-24T22:42:00.000-07:002010-03-24T22:42:08.678-07:00San FranciscoLast month I went back to the US during the Chinese New Year holiday. I took about two weeks off and spent most of that time back at home in Utah. Somewhat luckily, my flight had a 10 hour layover in San Francisco, before connecting back to Salt Lake City. Normally such a long layoff would be something to dread, but fortunately a few of my old college friends from Northwestern are living in San Francisco, turning a 10 hour layover into enough time to catch up with old friends and a quick tour of the city.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rsQh5yDvI/AAAAAAAAIOw/mETs7wTfwM8/s1600/IMG_5784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rsQh5yDvI/AAAAAAAAIOw/mETs7wTfwM8/s640/IMG_5784.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Flying the Blue Skies of the Pacific</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">After arriving in San Francisco, I went through customs as quickly as possible, then exited the terminal to go meet my friends. They picked me up and took me to a German restaurant for brunch. While we were waiting on the corner near the restaurant, I couldn't help but feel a bit of culture shock because of the diversity of the city. There were all different kinds of people, whereas in China it's so homogeneous. In the past I wouldn't think twice about something like that, but having spent over one year in mainland China without leaving the country, things seemed to have changed for me. Regardless, the brunch was amazing and some German sausages and potatoes were just what the doctor ordered after spending over 12 hours on a plane.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rts8QX8SI/AAAAAAAAIO4/Mn1GY68x_nA/s1600/IMG_5785.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rts8QX8SI/AAAAAAAAIO4/Mn1GY68x_nA/s640/IMG_5785.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ross, Dara, Chris, and Wes</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">After eating, they took me around the city a bit and showed me some of the local sites. Since Ross had just come to town for the weekend, he had to leave to go catch his flight, but Dara and Chris were able to keep showing me around, since they both live there. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rvLN1Nt_I/AAAAAAAAIPA/Aewb-xD0J2c/s1600/IMG_5786.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rvLN1Nt_I/AAAAAAAAIPA/Aewb-xD0J2c/s640/IMG_5786.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">City Hall</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rwErRFP_I/AAAAAAAAIPI/Pk2rQDlkYfI/s1600/IMG_5788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rwErRFP_I/AAAAAAAAIPI/Pk2rQDlkYfI/s640/IMG_5788.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Asian Art Museum Proves I Can't Get Away from China</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We went for a hike near the bay where we could get a view of the ocean and also the Golden Gate Bridge. After being in China for so long, I couldn't help but enjoy the blue skies and breathe in deeply the fresh smelling air. Dara and Chris laughed at such behavior, but I figured I might as well embrace it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rwdbQBOPI/AAAAAAAAIPQ/Gs5KZ9Y9rpo/s1600/IMG_5794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rwdbQBOPI/AAAAAAAAIPQ/Gs5KZ9Y9rpo/s640/IMG_5794.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Trail Near the Ocean</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rwtRwc_2I/AAAAAAAAIPY/QX5j_t-lAG4/s1600/IMG_5792.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rwtRwc_2I/AAAAAAAAIPY/QX5j_t-lAG4/s640/IMG_5792.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Golden Gate Bridge with Fog Rolling In</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rxF75A7xI/AAAAAAAAIPg/sUnbbXgCorQ/s1600/IMG_5802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rxF75A7xI/AAAAAAAAIPg/sUnbbXgCorQ/s640/IMG_5802.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Wes Feeling Short with Chris and Dara</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rxbziwVVI/AAAAAAAAIPo/udIyy5UB2O0/s1600/IMG_5800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rxbziwVVI/AAAAAAAAIPo/udIyy5UB2O0/s640/IMG_5800.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Light Through the Trees</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rx9_iJyEI/AAAAAAAAIPw/i37f98n5aCU/s1600/IMG_5806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rx9_iJyEI/AAAAAAAAIPw/i37f98n5aCU/s640/IMG_5806.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Kids Playing in Foam from Crashing Waves</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">After the hike, Chris took us to the area where he lives called the Mission. We walked around the streets and sampled some of the local wares. There was an ice cream shop that is supposed to be one of the best around. It had some unusual flavors and most seemed to be really tasty. The huge line out front of the shop proved that it's quite popular with the locals as well. The shop was right next to a big park, so we stopped there to relax for awhile. I was feeling the jetlag in full effect at that point and was struggling to keep it together at times.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rzwN9A8RI/AAAAAAAAISU/A45A-OxHdMk/s1600/IMG_5819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rzwN9A8RI/AAAAAAAAISU/A45A-OxHdMk/s640/IMG_5819.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">View of San Francisco from the Park</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rzyCWFqeI/AAAAAAAAISc/Fpm_L6Jk_44/s1600/IMG_5818.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6rzyCWFqeI/AAAAAAAAISc/Fpm_L6Jk_44/s640/IMG_5818.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mission Park</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately, the day was getting close to an end. We did have enough time to grab a quick dinner before I left. We ate at a Mexican restaurant where I was able to partake of a glorious burrito, the likes of which I hadn't eaten for quite some time. After that, I had to go back to the airport and continue onward to Salt Lake City. While the time was pretty short, I really enjoyed catching up with those guys after not having seen some of them for almost two years. It was cool to get a quick glimpse of San Francisco as well and it seems like a great place to live. Thanks again to Chris and Dara for making it happen!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">For more pictures, see: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/SanFrancisco#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/SanFrancisco#</a></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-88667949679631703202010-03-17T03:08:00.000-07:002010-03-17T05:20:00.409-07:00Bamboo Shoots in Xialu Village<iframe frameborder="0" height="350" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E5%A4%8F%E5%B1%A5%E9%95%87&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=30.875284,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Xialvzhen,+Shaoxing,+Zhejiang,+China&ll=30.242459,120.437622&spn=0.830467,1.167297&z=9&iwloc=A&output=embed" width="650"></iframe><br />
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About a month ago, before the Chinese New Year, I had about a week off of work in China before going back to the US. Since Chinese New Year is a time for people to go back to their hometowns and spend time with their family, lots of my coworkers were leaving the cities to go to the villages. One of my friends at work, Li Jian Qiao, asked if I wanted to go to his hometown and spend the day with him and his family. He mentioned that his parents had a bamboo garden, where we could search for some of the bamboo shoots that start growing in the springtime and are then used in cooking. Since I always enjoy going to the countryside in China and I love eating the bamboo shoots, the invitation was definitely an offer I couldn't refuse.<br />
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His hometown is an hour or two away from Hangzhou and is called Xialu Town or 夏履镇. We set off in the morning and had another one of our friends from work with us. After arriving at his home, we were greeted by his parents and also his daughter who stays with his parents. A lot of Chinese people will go to the cities for better jobs and better opportunities, and then leave their kids with the grandparents until they reach school age. That arrangement allows both the husband and wife to work full-time without paying for day care. It's a little sad in that they are often only able to see their kids on the weekends, but that's a common sacrifice for a lot of Chinese people.<br />
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The house they live in has two sides that are shared by Li's dad and his uncle. Being in China, the house is kind of walled off from the outside alley, as are most of the homes in the area. Li said that it was built sometime in the past 10-15 years. That style of building seems to be really common in the more modern village or rural areas in China. I've seen them a lot from the roadside when I've been taking buses around China, but have never really spent time near one, so it was interesting to check it out.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6Cy63_jFYI/AAAAAAAAIIE/jBa2poH-fCc/s1600-h/IMG_5742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6Cy63_jFYI/AAAAAAAAIIE/jBa2poH-fCc/s640/IMG_5742.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Alley Near Li's Home</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6Cy9npvVxI/AAAAAAAAIIM/uXtHTKDaJ7Q/s1600-h/IMG_5743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6Cy9npvVxI/AAAAAAAAIIM/uXtHTKDaJ7Q/s640/IMG_5743.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Li Estate</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzAFJxaXI/AAAAAAAAIIU/8twnN_s9gac/s1600-h/IMG_5746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzAFJxaXI/AAAAAAAAIIU/8twnN_s9gac/s640/IMG_5746.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Li Estate</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzCF8KdoI/AAAAAAAAIIc/cUnmFCI_UOA/s1600-h/IMG_5747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzCF8KdoI/AAAAAAAAIIc/cUnmFCI_UOA/s640/IMG_5747.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Dried Duck</div><br />
While we were relaxing at his house, we started partaking of the usual Chinese time killers, namely sitting in the sun, eating seeds and throwing the shells all over the ground, and drinking tea. That suited me just fine.<br />
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After awhile, we decided to go to the bamboo garden and dig for bamboo roots. All the farmers in the village have a sectioned off square of this big bamboo forest that they harvest. They cut down some of the trees as they get too large and sell the wood, as well as harvest the bamboo shoots to sell in the markets for people to eat. Since the wood is harvested only as there become too many trees, it's a very sustainable way to get wood and also some delicious shoots to eat in the springtime.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzEeQjP0I/AAAAAAAAIIk/rKMRG7XvK7A/s1600-h/IMG_5698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzEeQjP0I/AAAAAAAAIIk/rKMRG7XvK7A/s640/IMG_5698.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Bamboo Forest Entrance</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzFINljHI/AAAAAAAAIIs/KAUEuV520M0/s1600-h/IMG_5699.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzFINljHI/AAAAAAAAIIs/KAUEuV520M0/s640/IMG_5699.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Li's Daughter, Li Jian Qiao, and Lou Yao Lin</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzH43zRYI/AAAAAAAAII0/2GKLvl39Glo/s1600-h/IMG_5701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzH43zRYI/AAAAAAAAII0/2GKLvl39Glo/s640/IMG_5701.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A Ravenous Bamboo Hunter</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzLnzncYI/AAAAAAAAII8/6l4ZkDIi-jA/s1600-h/IMG_5707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzLnzncYI/AAAAAAAAII8/6l4ZkDIi-jA/s640/IMG_5707.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Bamboo Forest</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzN9RMoWI/AAAAAAAAIJE/FtRnOw651OY/s1600-h/IMG_5708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzN9RMoWI/AAAAAAAAIJE/FtRnOw651OY/s640/IMG_5708.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Li's Bamboo Garden Area</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzPtXqRiI/AAAAAAAAIJM/AQP3rWII1dc/s1600-h/IMG_5710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzPtXqRiI/AAAAAAAAIJM/AQP3rWII1dc/s640/IMG_5710.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Li with His Daughter</div><br />
Since it was still pretty early in the year, there weren't a lot of bamboo shoots yet. Most of them were still underground so we had to dig down below the surface. For the most part all we could find were really small ones that weren't worth bothering about. After we had been digging for awhile, Lou got an idea from a TV show he had watched about how a lot of the bamboo shoots grow near the trees that have a lot of dead leaves around them. Sure enough, after searching a bit in areas like that we started to find a lot more. We found one big one that was worth taking home at the end.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzQ6JXL0I/AAAAAAAAIJU/_h4WWVqTbf8/s1600-h/IMG_5714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzQ6JXL0I/AAAAAAAAIJU/_h4WWVqTbf8/s640/IMG_5714.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Digging for Gold</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzSxNM93I/AAAAAAAAIJc/mXJonpFmFkY/s1600-h/IMG_5733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6CzSxNM93I/AAAAAAAAIJc/mXJonpFmFkY/s640/IMG_5733.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Located a Small Bamboo Shoot</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDiGI7k9I/AAAAAAAAILU/uE_OH8vPKVU/s1600-h/IMG_5729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDiGI7k9I/AAAAAAAAILU/uE_OH8vPKVU/s640/IMG_5729.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A Baby Bamboo Shoot</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDkeQtLiI/AAAAAAAAILc/eoeZVQKgql8/s1600-h/IMG_5737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDkeQtLiI/AAAAAAAAILc/eoeZVQKgql8/s640/IMG_5737.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A Big Bamboo Shoot</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDmHTZGLI/AAAAAAAAILk/GmmTjRrxc3I/s1600-h/IMG_5738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDmHTZGLI/AAAAAAAAILk/GmmTjRrxc3I/s640/IMG_5738.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Look at the Big the Fish I Caught</div><br />
After we finished up at the bamboo garden, we went back to Li's house. His mom had prepared a big lunch for us and had used some bamboo shoots they had dug earlier in the cooking. There's not much better than some home cooking in China. Without trying to make myself look crazy, I took a couple pictures of the food while we were eating.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDonj_6OI/AAAAAAAAILs/CTjk0KrSBuY/s1600-h/IMG_5748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDonj_6OI/AAAAAAAAILs/CTjk0KrSBuY/s640/IMG_5748.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Lunch with Fish Head, Vegetables, Bamboo Shoots, and Dried Duck</div><br />
We spent the afternoon walking around the village area and took part of some of the sights, sounds, and smells. Nearby, there was a large reservoir they use to store water for all the farmers in the area.<br />
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</div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDqqQS8CI/AAAAAAAAIL0/2Vs14SdyI1I/s1600-h/IMG_5751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDqqQS8CI/AAAAAAAAIL0/2Vs14SdyI1I/s640/IMG_5751.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Water Reservoir</div><br />
We also went into the city center that was a little further away. They had markets there and all kinds of crazy things to buy. In the market, most of the smaller livestock, such as chickens, were still alive in cages. If you wanted to buy a chicken, they would slaughter it right in front of you. That way you would know for sure that it was fresh. They had other types of dried meats, vegetables, tofu, local wine, or anything else you could imagine. Visiting these small markets is something I enjoy the most in China, just so you can see the real local life and humanity of the situation.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDty0E9QI/AAAAAAAAIL8/6LZyAV4StKs/s1600-h/IMG_5754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDty0E9QI/AAAAAAAAIL8/6LZyAV4StKs/s640/IMG_5754.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Woman in Alley Near City Center</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDvzcZLeI/AAAAAAAAIME/M1eKXf2YPI0/s1600-h/IMG_5756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDvzcZLeI/AAAAAAAAIME/M1eKXf2YPI0/s640/IMG_5756.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Caged Chickens</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDyCfNJEI/AAAAAAAAIMM/kjSIU94f9D8/s1600-h/IMG_5758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDyCfNJEI/AAAAAAAAIMM/kjSIU94f9D8/s640/IMG_5758.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Fish in Tubs</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDzxbfXEI/AAAAAAAAIMU/cjXYxdYKmZs/s1600-h/IMG_5759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DDzxbfXEI/AAAAAAAAIMU/cjXYxdYKmZs/s640/IMG_5759.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Vegetables</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DD2RJVhvI/AAAAAAAAIMc/xIHrwkHOzCQ/s1600-h/IMG_5761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DD2RJVhvI/AAAAAAAAIMc/xIHrwkHOzCQ/s640/IMG_5761.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Butcher Shop</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DD4QiFRsI/AAAAAAAAIMk/A6FGl36Kqu4/s1600-h/IMG_5755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DD4QiFRsI/AAAAAAAAIMk/A6FGl36Kqu4/s640/IMG_5755.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Lou Negotiating the Sale of Some Local Wine</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DD6ayAspI/AAAAAAAAIMs/zZSwQpEL-do/s1600-h/IMG_5764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DD6ayAspI/AAAAAAAAIMs/zZSwQpEL-do/s640/IMG_5764.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Dried, Salted Fish</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DD7rN4IkI/AAAAAAAAIM0/u50_TSvnp_A/s1600-h/IMG_5766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S6DD7rN4IkI/AAAAAAAAIM0/u50_TSvnp_A/s640/IMG_5766.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Salted Pig's Head</div><br />
After spending time in the city center, Lou and I headed back to Hangzhou, leaving Li at home to be with his family. It was really great to go to Li's hometown and see his family there. Being able to visit the countryside with a local makes the experience a lot better and lets you see the simple life that a lot of Chinese people still live outside the big cities. Lou and Li were very kind and showed me a great time, not to mention buying several gifts of local wares and delicacies for me and my family. I can't thank those guys enough and it will be an experience I will always remember.<br />
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For more pictures, check: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/XialuVillage#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/XialuVillage#</a>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-55898198483721063402010-01-10T20:44:00.000-08:002010-01-10T20:48:23.163-08:00Christmas and New Year's in Hangzhou<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">In keeping with my tradition of doing all blog posts several weeks or months after the event happens, here is my Christmas and New Year's blog post. Since Christmas isn't a major holiday in China, I didn't get much vacation and wasn't able to go home for Christmas for the first time in my life. While I tried my best to enjoy the holiday season, it's just not the same without being at home. However, my family did send me a lot of the Christmas fare that I normally enjoy, which made things nicer.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"> The Christmas Care Package Spread from My Family<br />
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</div>There were a few Christmas celebrations in Hangzhou that I visited. The Sunday before Christmas there was an international Christian group's Christmas show. I didn't really know what to expect, but I figured I would at least check it out. When I arrived, I was greeted with some raucous Christmas caroling. The music was of the get up and dance variety that we normally associate with some of the black churches in the US. It turns out that there are a large number of Africans in Hangzhou, from an array of countries such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and Kenya. Besides that, there were a lot of people from other countries in Asia, Europe, South America, and even the good old USA. Together all these people have formed the Christian group in Hangzhou and helped to organize the event. There were probably over 200 people at the show. I have to say that the singing was fun to sit back and listen to, although they kept trying to make me get up to clap and sing along, something I was unwilling to oblige.<br />
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The first half of their Christmas show was a lot of fun with the singing, but the second half consisted of a nativity play that was done through modern dance. That part kind of lost me, since there wasn't any speaking and only strange dancing to new age music. Overall, though, it was fun to see and it was definitely the most international event I've been to in Hangzhou. I had no idea there were so many people from all over the world in Hangzhou, since normally I seldom see many foreigners in my normal day to day life. Unfortunately, I didn't think to bring my camera to this Christmas show, so I have no photographic evidence to back up my claims.<br />
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On Christmas Eve, there was a big Christmas party at this Euro-American Center in Hangzhou. It was advertised on the local expat forum, so I expected somewhat of a low-key event with mostly foreigners attending. However, I was once again duped into going to a event that was anything but low key and of which 99% where Chinese. The lines for all the games were way too long to be worth playing and there were of course huge crowds for the show they had. I don't know why I expected anything different, because that's how it always is here.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qldidZoQI/AAAAAAAAH3o/d6S4xvLqJo0/s1600-h/IMG_5500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qldidZoQI/AAAAAAAAH3o/d6S4xvLqJo0/s640/IMG_5500.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Santa Does Come to China<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Large Plastic Christmas Tree<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qlf3waOTI/AAAAAAAAH34/B52P2YicRrU/s1600-h/IMG_5508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qlf3waOTI/AAAAAAAAH34/B52P2YicRrU/s640/IMG_5508.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Some Christmas Caroling<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Chinese Christmas Punk Band?<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qlinlzEuI/AAAAAAAAH4Q/rCIqEbiN3QQ/s1600-h/IMG_5513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qlinlzEuI/AAAAAAAAH4Q/rCIqEbiN3QQ/s640/IMG_5513.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Santa Giving Some Gifts<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Just a Few People Here for the Party<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">On Christmas day, I didn't really do anything too special. Just watched some Christmas movies and took the day off work. That weekend, however, it actually snowed in Hangzhou for the first time since I've been in China. So at least I got to have a little snow for Christmas. It was nice to see some snowflakes falling, but it wasn't cold enough for much to stick on the ground, so it was all gone by the end of the day.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Snowflakes from My Window<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">One week later was of course New Year's. Since China has the separate Chinese New Year, there isn't much celebration for the other New Year. I'd say that since the holidays in China are few and far between and extremely crowded for traveling, so far they're getting about a D- in holidays. During the weekend after New Year's, I headed to the lake because we'd been having a small stretch of warm weather. Luckily, I was there in time for some nice views during the sunset over the lake.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qo4MVWS8I/AAAAAAAAH5o/KOscTb03fdo/s1600-h/IMG_5554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qo4MVWS8I/AAAAAAAAH5o/KOscTb03fdo/s640/IMG_5554.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qpDN3FfxI/AAAAAAAAH5w/AX5yFcZerT0/s1600-h/IMG_5558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qpDN3FfxI/AAAAAAAAH5w/AX5yFcZerT0/s640/IMG_5558.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qpEFiQTwI/AAAAAAAAH54/YDPUDSnRjig/s1600-h/IMG_5559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qpEFiQTwI/AAAAAAAAH54/YDPUDSnRjig/s640/IMG_5559.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qpS3pzWbI/AAAAAAAAH6A/LN2eRaDsOdo/s1600-h/IMG_5573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/S0qpS3pzWbI/AAAAAAAAH6A/LN2eRaDsOdo/s640/IMG_5573.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So those were my holidays this year in China. It was fun, but not quite the same as being at home and with family. Hope everyone else enjoyed their holidays and wish everyone a great start to 2010!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Some more pictures:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Christmas2009InHangzhou#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Christmas2009InHangzhou#</a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/HangzhouWestLakeSunset#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/HangzhouWestLakeSunset#</a><br />
</div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-76245031690963478072009-12-29T20:53:00.000-08:002009-12-29T21:59:29.500-08:00Datong - Hanging Temple<iframe frameborder="0" height="400" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103737124151700287492.000477704aad1cfdfd110&ll=35.38905,102.919922&spn=28.509309,57.128906&z=4&output=embed" width="650"></iframe><br />
<small>View <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103737124151700287492.000477704aad1cfdfd110&ll=35.38905,102.919922&spn=28.509309,57.128906&z=4&source=embed" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">Inner Mongolia Trip</a> in a larger map</small><br />
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The second and final day in Datong I headed to the Hanging Temple, which is an hour's ride outside of the city. Like the name suggests, the temple is in a constant state of suspension on the side of a mountain. It was built about 1500 years ago, similarly to the Yungang Grottoes, but the temple isn't in the original, crumbling form and has been renovated several times. Considering its precarious position hanging from the side of a mountain, with loads of tourists visiting everyday and the need to support their weight, it doesn't surprise me that it has been fixed up a little.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrpRBXlQeI/AAAAAAAAHsI/rGLXnlH3WzM/s1600-h/IMG_5160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrpRBXlQeI/AAAAAAAAHsI/rGLXnlH3WzM/s640/IMG_5160.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Hanging Temple (懸空寺)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrpXNYuywI/AAAAAAAAHsQ/RPPXbIv7A0w/s1600-h/IMG_5161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrpXNYuywI/AAAAAAAAHsQ/RPPXbIv7A0w/s640/IMG_5161.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Temple from a Distance<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrpfGGJHGI/AAAAAAAAHsY/omXtzr49gQg/s1600-h/IMG_5176.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrpfGGJHGI/AAAAAAAAHsY/omXtzr49gQg/s640/IMG_5176.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Wes and Hanging Temple<br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrppKF955I/AAAAAAAAHsg/2B_sKmu6Olc/s1600-h/IMG_5180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrppKF955I/AAAAAAAAHsg/2B_sKmu6Olc/s640/IMG_5180.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Temple from Below<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrpzVyzbQI/AAAAAAAAHso/oMncsf804kI/s1600-h/IMG_5182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrpzVyzbQI/AAAAAAAAHso/oMncsf804kI/s640/IMG_5182.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Temple Side View<br />
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As you can see from the pictures, most of the temple rests on a ledge that has been carved back into the rock. However, some of the walkways and other parts are suspended merely by some thin wooden stilts. Seems pretty safe, especially with hordes of tourists loaded up on the walkways waiting to go through the temple. Because the temple is carved into the mountain, it provides a really nice cover from the elements. When walking around outside of the temple, it was really cold and windy, but inside you couldn't feel any wind and it was a lot warmer.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Szrp78rmi0I/AAAAAAAAHsw/xTWQ7lpVxcU/s1600-h/IMG_5190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Szrp78rmi0I/AAAAAAAAHsw/xTWQ7lpVxcU/s640/IMG_5190.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Stilted Walkway<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrqDRmB0GI/AAAAAAAAHs4/rUXqVf9jD5s/s1600-h/IMG_5191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrqDRmB0GI/AAAAAAAAHs4/rUXqVf9jD5s/s640/IMG_5191.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Stilted Part of Temple<br />
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After walking around the areas outside of the temple, I went on the walking tour through the temple. You follow a procession of tourists through a set walking path and go over, up, and back through nearly all rooms, walkways, and areas of the temple. While it only takes a half hour or so, it's really cool to see the temple and the surrounding mountain scenery.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrqT-TK6VI/AAAAAAAAHtA/bviyteiN1TI/s1600-h/IMG_5184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrqT-TK6VI/AAAAAAAAHtA/bviyteiN1TI/s640/IMG_5184.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Hanging Temple Up Close<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrqbjaasPI/AAAAAAAAHtI/rcOSZnKwoOA/s1600-h/IMG_5206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrqbjaasPI/AAAAAAAAHtI/rcOSZnKwoOA/s640/IMG_5206.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">On Top Level of Temple<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrqkwmvFbI/AAAAAAAAHtQ/vfjM1_XydFE/s1600-h/IMG_5209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrqkwmvFbI/AAAAAAAAHtQ/vfjM1_XydFE/s640/IMG_5209.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Wes with Temple and Mountains<br />
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Because it is a temple, there were also several interesting religious statues in some of the side rooms of the temple.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrrDUdp2ZI/AAAAAAAAHtY/TJ_rPysGnJ8/s1600-h/IMG_5192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrrDUdp2ZI/AAAAAAAAHtY/TJ_rPysGnJ8/s640/IMG_5192.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I Like the Angry, Blue Warlord on the Right<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">(This might be something similar to the good angel, bad angel situation. The white statue on the left seems to be advocating peace, the blue one on the right war, and the bronze statue in the middle listening to them, but that's just a guess.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrrNZVUqbI/AAAAAAAAHtg/251fbz4mKVg/s1600-h/IMG_5201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrrNZVUqbI/AAAAAAAAHtg/251fbz4mKVg/s640/IMG_5201.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Black Eyed Statues<br />
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I took a bit more time to walk around and take pictures of the temple after the tour. Admittedly, a lot of the pictures look pretty much the same, but you can never have enough pictures and different angles.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrrXlj9lDI/AAAAAAAAHto/tLqxW_6rKG8/s1600-h/IMG_5230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrrXlj9lDI/AAAAAAAAHto/tLqxW_6rKG8/s640/IMG_5230.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Full View of Hanging Temple<br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrrnkXAakI/AAAAAAAAHtw/jOuacRhVuZk/s1600-h/IMG_5236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SzrrnkXAakI/AAAAAAAAHtw/jOuacRhVuZk/s640/IMG_5236.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Characteristic Chinese Rock Denoting Landmark with Fancy Writing (懸空寺)<br />
</div><br />
After visiting the Hanging Temple, I got on a train back to Hangzhou that same afternoon. That concludes my trip to Inner Mongolia (Hohhot, Grasslands, and Desert) and Datong (Yungang Grottoes and Hanging Temple). It might have taken me three months to finish all the blog posts, but at least I finally got around to it. All told I was traveling for about 8 days and covered over 2500 miles. It was a blast and definitely a side of China I haven't seen before. I went from one side of a rail line all the way to the other side, from Hangzhou to Baotou.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Szrrx6OXaNI/AAAAAAAAHt4/mRuyV6vB0GQ/s1600-h/IMG_5241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Szrrx6OXaNI/AAAAAAAAHt4/mRuyV6vB0GQ/s640/IMG_5241.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Train Sign Commemorating the Inner Mongolia and Datong Trip October 2009<br />
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For more pictures of the Hanging Temple, see: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/DatongHangingTemple#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/DatongHangingTemple#</a>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-46982677567904584322009-12-08T20:39:00.000-08:002009-12-08T21:16:43.638-08:00Datong - Yungang Grottoes<iframe frameborder="0" height="400" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103737124151700287492.000477704aad1cfdfd110&ll=35.38905,102.919922&spn=28.509309,57.128906&z=4&output=embed" width="650"></iframe><br />
<small>View <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103737124151700287492.000477704aad1cfdfd110&ll=35.38905,102.919922&spn=28.509309,57.128906&z=4&source=embed" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">Inner Mongolia Trip</a> in a larger map</small><br />
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The next stop on my trip during the October Holiday was in Datong, which is located in the northern part of Shanxi province, right next to Inner Mongolia. Datong and Shanxi province are mostly known as big coal mining areas and Datong has previously been ranked as one of the most polluted cities in the world, although recently it has been cleaned up a bit. Upon arrival at the train station, I could definitely tell that the city was a lot dirtier and less developed than other cities I had been to in China. At night they didn't have many lights on, so on some streets, even in the downtown, it would be almost completely dark. The hotel I stayed at was one of the few reasonably priced hotels I could find, but unfortunately it was close to the train station. Whenever I went outside I would constantly get harassed by the hawkers and other people who normally lurk about train stations in China, offering rides in unlicensed cabs, selling crap, or anything else. Something else I noticed was the large number of guys just peeing on the streets or right out in the open. You might see that here and there in other parts of China, but in Datong it was literally all over the place. Needless to say, my impression of the city itself is pretty poor.<br />
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Despite all the negatives, Datong has two big tourist attractions that make the visit worthwhile. The first is the Yungang Grottoes, or sometimes called the Cloud Ridge Caves. The grottoes are around 1500 years old and contain thousands (51,000 according to wikipedia) of Buddhist carvings, some of which are quite small and others that are huge. It's amazing to think that people were able to build something like that so long ago.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8wsL5A77I/AAAAAAAAHfw/x6MjhKv7pZc/s1600-h/IMG_5086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8wsL5A77I/AAAAAAAAHfw/x6MjhKv7pZc/s640/IMG_5086.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Yungang Grottoes<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8wu5vGifI/AAAAAAAAHf4/jr_6bg65CY8/s1600-h/IMG_5087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8wu5vGifI/AAAAAAAAHf4/jr_6bg65CY8/s640/IMG_5087.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Grottoes with Buddhist Carvings<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8wxZLRubI/AAAAAAAAHgA/pZOTKVqn9iU/s1600-h/IMG_5078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8wxZLRubI/AAAAAAAAHgA/pZOTKVqn9iU/s640/IMG_5078.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Giant Buddha (Notice Man Holding Up the Arm)<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8wzTcahdI/AAAAAAAAHgI/ZmZRXKnqDIE/s1600-h/IMG_5083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8wzTcahdI/AAAAAAAAHgI/ZmZRXKnqDIE/s640/IMG_5083.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Close Up of Small Carvings<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8w1dPWInI/AAAAAAAAHgQ/PHV6pm3RsgY/s1600-h/IMG_5090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8w1dPWInI/AAAAAAAAHgQ/PHV6pm3RsgY/s640/IMG_5090.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Hall of Many Buddhas<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8w3-Xk40I/AAAAAAAAHgY/HRflq3famxY/s1600-h/IMG_5091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8w3-Xk40I/AAAAAAAAHgY/HRflq3famxY/s640/IMG_5091.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Wall of Buddhas<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8w6DZmQ8I/AAAAAAAAHgg/xCAnFpIeEu8/s1600-h/IMG_5114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8w6DZmQ8I/AAAAAAAAHgg/xCAnFpIeEu8/s640/IMG_5114.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Big Buddha<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8w81uTaWI/AAAAAAAAHgo/4T0GSdIjG1Y/s1600-h/IMG_5099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8w81uTaWI/AAAAAAAAHgo/4T0GSdIjG1Y/s640/IMG_5099.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Large Section of Grottoes with Fellow American Tourist<br />
</div><br />
There were several sections or caves to enter, over 50 in all, but unfortunately in the two best caves they didn't allow pictures. I tried to sneak a few pictures, but got yelled out. Despite my best efforts, the forbidden pictures turned out pretty blurry.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8w-_P0qTI/AAAAAAAAHgw/Em7nqbE9zKA/s1600-h/IMG_5110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8w-_P0qTI/AAAAAAAAHgw/Em7nqbE9zKA/s640/IMG_5110.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Inside Cave<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xBIlf3_I/AAAAAAAAHg4/8sPJn2tx1_M/s1600-h/IMG_5112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xBIlf3_I/AAAAAAAAHg4/8sPJn2tx1_M/s640/IMG_5112.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">"Illegal" Picture<br />
</div><br />
There was also a series of smaller "caves" that were basically little squares cut into the stone with small sculptures inside. These were less of a tourist draw and fewer people were there, but you could go and take a closer look at some of them without being hurried along or being crowded by people, which was nice.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xELpmocI/AAAAAAAAHhA/xMPken6yVXI/s1600-h/IMG_5149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xELpmocI/AAAAAAAAHhA/xMPken6yVXI/s640/IMG_5149.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Small Caves<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xFvJKUdI/AAAAAAAAHhI/xA916qa_U7w/s1600-h/IMG_5145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xFvJKUdI/AAAAAAAAHhI/xA916qa_U7w/s640/IMG_5145.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div>At the very front there was a large Buddha that was exposed to the outside world. Apparently, the cave had collapsed awhile back, so now it's out in the open. It was one of the more interesting things to see and also a good chance to get a good full view of one of the Buddhas.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xIPTqsjI/AAAAAAAAHhQ/2VjxXPRRmeU/s1600-h/IMG_5138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xIPTqsjI/AAAAAAAAHhQ/2VjxXPRRmeU/s640/IMG_5138.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Buddha with Collapsed Cave<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xJoKRJPI/AAAAAAAAHhY/ymsc7iHcTrc/s1600-h/IMG_5152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xJoKRJPI/AAAAAAAAHhY/ymsc7iHcTrc/s640/IMG_5152.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Side View<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xLxWUl9I/AAAAAAAAHhg/oY88EcwiD5Y/s1600-h/IMG_5153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xLxWUl9I/AAAAAAAAHhg/oY88EcwiD5Y/s640/IMG_5153.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Some People Who Asked to Take a Photo with us "Foreigners"<br />
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While the Yungang Grottoes might not be a full day visit, it's definitely worth a trip to the area outside the city to see some of these historical relics. Some of the carvings are crumbling and show their age, but to me that makes them even better than something that has been restored in a poor way and has an artificial look.<br />
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After going back to Datong city, we got some lunch at a Chinese barbecue, which is basically an array of different meats, tofu, and vegetables on sticks, including full fish with head, fins, and all.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xMnlDDeI/AAAAAAAAHho/XTfOqXKjXUw/s1600-h/IMG_5155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Sx8xMnlDDeI/AAAAAAAAHho/XTfOqXKjXUw/s640/IMG_5155.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Chinese BBQ for Lunch<br />
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For more pictures, see the picasa album: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Datong#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Datong#</a>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6977003330397897532.post-37328624819514439042009-11-15T20:48:00.000-08:002009-12-08T20:27:14.719-08:00Kubuqi Desert (Resonant Sand Gorge)<iframe frameborder="0" height="400" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103737124151700287492.000477704aad1cfdfd110&ll=35.38905,102.919922&spn=28.509309,57.128906&z=4&output=embed" width="650"></iframe><br />
<small>View <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103737124151700287492.000477704aad1cfdfd110&ll=35.38905,102.919922&spn=28.509309,57.128906&z=4&source=embed" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">Inner Mongolia Trip</a> in a larger map</small><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Besides the grasslands, the next major thing to see in Inner Mongolia is the desert. Inner Mongolia is home to parts of the Gobi and other deserts. The desert occupies a large portion of land in that region. The nearest and most accessible section of the desert to the big cities in Inner Mongolia is called the Kubuqi Desert and everyone goes to the part called the Resonant Sand Gorge. To get to the desert, I went to the city Baotou, which is west of Hohhot. Before leaving Hohhot, I made sure to eat one last time on the restaurant street that had a lot of Mongolian and Muslim restaurants. Mongolian food and Muslim barbecue with lamb and spices is about as good as it gets for me.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjkopcXM-I/AAAAAAAAHA8/GE6MJG3hk4w/s1600-h/IMG_4854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjkopcXM-I/AAAAAAAAHA8/GE6MJG3hk4w/s640/IMG_4854.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Restaurant Street with Barbecue<br />
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</div></div></div><div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Baotou isn't too far from Hohhot, but it definitely seemed a bit more wild and had less exposure to foreigners. Previously, when I went to a new and strange place, I'd get nervous or maybe feel a bit uncertain about things, but I've learned to embrace it and enjoy it as much as you can. After finding a hotel and booking my trip to the desert, I got a great dinner for the super cheap prices that can be found in the non-major Chinese cities.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjktQudaeI/AAAAAAAAHBU/lR34sWR4dGw/s1600-h/IMG_4860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjktQudaeI/AAAAAAAAHBU/lR34sWR4dGw/s640/IMG_4860.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Rack of Lamb<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjkwY9DCuI/AAAAAAAAHBs/zAho0yAi3g8/s1600-h/IMG_4859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjkwY9DCuI/AAAAAAAAHBs/zAho0yAi3g8/s640/IMG_4859.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Bus Converted to Street Food Restaurant<br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The next day I headed to the Kubuqi desert. After taking about an hour and a half to two hours drive from Baotou, you reach an area of land that has a quick transition from farming area to sand and desert. I was shocked to see that literally within 100 meters of the desert they were building a huge rail line, which the driver said was mainly for shipping coal. Within the next 400 meter radius there was a huge coal electricity plant. To me it seemed like they were tempting the fates by building that kind of infrastructure right next to the desert. If the desert expanded to the point where it swallowed up the new rail line or destroyed their plant, there would be nothing they could do to stop it.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjpkNOFXjI/AAAAAAAAHCU/P3tg6mE22Vw/s1600-h/IMG_4911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjpkNOFXjI/AAAAAAAAHCU/P3tg6mE22Vw/s640/IMG_4911.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Coal Plant<br />
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</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svjpq6wwkbI/AAAAAAAAHCc/ed5su2MR2X0/s1600-h/IMG_4866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svjpq6wwkbI/AAAAAAAAHCc/ed5su2MR2X0/s640/IMG_4866.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Rail Line Next to Desert<br />
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</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svjpu0zaf6I/AAAAAAAAHCk/ClCyhaFb4GY/s1600-h/IMG_4899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svjpu0zaf6I/AAAAAAAAHCk/ClCyhaFb4GY/s640/IMG_4899.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">People Getting a Ride on an Old Truck<br />
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</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">For better or worse, the stretch of desert that they take everyone to is pretty touristy, but you don't really have a choice to go anywhere else. Before you enter the desert area, you can rent these big desert socks that keep sand out of your shoes. While they might not be the most fashionable, they are quite necessary if you plan on walking around much. Much like the grasslands, I had plenty of time to get out and do a little exploring on my own. I had never been to a desert landscape before and it was actually quite beautiful to see dunes stretched out as far as the eye can see.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjrntNRo1I/AAAAAAAAHC0/Ay8YbRMDCg8/s1600-h/IMG_4876.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjrntNRo1I/AAAAAAAAHC0/Ay8YbRMDCg8/s640/IMG_4876.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Kubuqi Desert<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjroFu5LlI/AAAAAAAAHC8/RuLx0dONfeM/s1600-h/IMG_4886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjroFu5LlI/AAAAAAAAHC8/RuLx0dONfeM/s640/IMG_4886.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">My Driver<br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">(He proves the stereotype that northern Chinese people are tall)<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svjrqf9o71I/AAAAAAAAHDE/9rvfDeZclfo/s1600-h/IMG_4889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svjrqf9o71I/AAAAAAAAHDE/9rvfDeZclfo/s640/IMG_4889.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Wes and Stylish Red Desert Socks<br />
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</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjtbHoXxfI/AAAAAAAAHDM/kJVmRMyrUVs/s1600-h/IMG_4907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjtbHoXxfI/AAAAAAAAHDM/kJVmRMyrUVs/s640/IMG_4907.jpg" /></a><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Driver At Top of Dune<br />
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</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjtdbkEuXI/AAAAAAAAHDU/Ot7vHguwUvk/s1600-h/IMG_4909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvjtdbkEuXI/AAAAAAAAHDU/Ot7vHguwUvk/s640/IMG_4909.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Desert Landscape<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">After walking around for awhile, I decided to partake in one of the tourist attractions and go on a camel ride. I had never ridden a camel before, so it was a good as time as any to give it a try. I have to admit that the camels were surprisingly docile and easy to ride. I'm not sure if it's because they are just good natured or if it's because they had bolts running through their noses connecting a string of camels together, but they definitely seemed friendly. Whereas the horses on the grasslands seemed to have a mind of their own, the camels just kind of plodded along wherever they were led.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svo7DaJvT5I/AAAAAAAAHD0/t-HPUcpoz2k/s1600-h/IMG_4913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svo7DaJvT5I/AAAAAAAAHD0/t-HPUcpoz2k/s640/IMG_4913.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Camel Corral<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svo7IFKp8kI/AAAAAAAAHD8/aI3uDMwZbQo/s1600-h/IMG_4915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svo7IFKp8kI/AAAAAAAAHD8/aI3uDMwZbQo/s640/IMG_4915.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">All Aboard (Notice Bolt Through Nose)<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">To get on the camel, you would climb on while the camel was lying down, then a Chinese guy helping you would kind of grunt and pull on the camel to get it to stand up. It was a surprisingly big jump to go from sitting to standing and normally the camels would stand up in stages: the back legs first, then the front legs. During the interval of time between when the back legs were going up and the front legs were still down, you would get rocked forward quite a bit, which caused quite a number of Chinese girls to scream.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">After all the camels had been mounted in the group, one of the small, weathered Chinese men working there would lead the caravan for a walk around the desert. At first I thought those workers were friendly and helpful, that is until they demanded that you pay them when they took pictures of you on the camel. We rode the camels for about 20 minutes until we arrived at a little zoo, which mostly seemed to contain underfed and tortured animals that had no business living in the desert.<br />
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</div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svo7Rj-pVvI/AAAAAAAAHEE/n0M5oqG7uC8/s1600-h/IMG_4923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svo7Rj-pVvI/AAAAAAAAHEE/n0M5oqG7uC8/s640/IMG_4923.jpg" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Tour Guide<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svo7TZGtd1I/AAAAAAAAHEM/eEt8GyRTIpk/s1600-h/IMG_4925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svo7TZGtd1I/AAAAAAAAHEM/eEt8GyRTIpk/s640/IMG_4925.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Caravan<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svo7nVCo52I/AAAAAAAAHEk/wzwxh9AJ-JU/s1600-h/IMG_4959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svo7nVCo52I/AAAAAAAAHEk/wzwxh9AJ-JU/s640/IMG_4959.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Wes on Camel<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svo7qAQXe4I/AAAAAAAAHEs/qUOwALsHaFQ/s1600-h/IMG_4993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/Svo7qAQXe4I/AAAAAAAAHEs/qUOwALsHaFQ/s640/IMG_4993.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">My Friendly Camel<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvpAPWocJ1I/AAAAAAAAHE0/KWpbp4E6Z3E/s1600-h/IMG_4941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvpAPWocJ1I/AAAAAAAAHE0/KWpbp4E6Z3E/s640/IMG_4941.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Anyone Heard of Desert Goats?<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvpASBs1YwI/AAAAAAAAHE8/VN3FfafMJdQ/s1600-h/IMG_4949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvpASBs1YwI/AAAAAAAAHE8/VN3FfafMJdQ/s640/IMG_4949.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">These Animals Probably Died at this Zoo in the Desert<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">After the camel ride, I took some more time to walk around and see the desert landscapes.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvpBn6teNdI/AAAAAAAAHFE/iclxe4kHbcU/s1600-h/IMG_4998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvpBn6teNdI/AAAAAAAAHFE/iclxe4kHbcU/s640/IMG_4998.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Desert Landscape with Caravan in the Distance<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvpBvFWKwKI/AAAAAAAAHFU/tgiae96KOv4/s1600-h/IMG_5060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvpBvFWKwKI/AAAAAAAAHFU/tgiae96KOv4/s640/IMG_5060.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Dune<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">There were a few other tourist things to do, like a long zip line and a sled down a big dune. Of course everything is overpriced for tourists, so I decided to take the cheaper sled ride and then headed back to the city. Upon arriving in Baotou, I went straight to the train station to go to my next destination, Datong, in Shanxi province. That means my time in Inner Mongolia was over. I really liked Inner Mongolia and enjoyed the landscapes of the grasslands and desert. It was nice to get away from big cities and pollution for a little while. The only thing that might have been nicer is if I had gone during the summer time. During the summer the grasslands would have been greener and the weather a bit warmer. Besides that, it was a great trip.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are some final scenes from Baotou and Inner Mongolia:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvpE57QrU6I/AAAAAAAAHFc/D4mEg2m0y6I/s1600-h/IMG_5069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvpE57QrU6I/AAAAAAAAHFc/D4mEg2m0y6I/s640/IMG_5069.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Man With Donkeys Pulling Cart Down Main Road<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvpE8bLCNMI/AAAAAAAAHFk/JDpOLdQyntA/s1600-h/IMG_5071.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NeNMI-uVuwc/SvpE8bLCNMI/AAAAAAAAHFk/JDpOLdQyntA/s640/IMG_5071.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Back to Crowds of People at the Baotou Train Station<br />
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For more pictures, see the picasa album: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/KubuqiDesertResonantSandGorge#">http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/KubuqiDesertResonantSandGorge#</a><br />
</div></div></div></div></div>Wes Allredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15431545336061544805noreply@blogger.com1